Friend or Foe: Chapter 1: The Failed Experiment
by xenowriter
Summary: A new story that I'm writing that will incorporate some OC's. The first one is the backstory to R2 that is copyrighted to R2ninjaturtle Bishop and the Federation create a partnership that will enable Bishop to conduct a supersoldier but things do not go according to plan
1. Chapter 1

The Failed Project

Many years ago….

His face muscles didn't twitch as his dark eyes peered at the monitor in front of him. Inside, his body shook with anger and frustration. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly on the cold metal table. How in the hell could have this happened? Bishop wouldn't even give the outcome of his experiment another look. He scoured the data and had the computer redo the analysis repeatedly. Letting out a scream of rage, he shoved the laptop off the table and heard it shatter against the wall nearby. The two nearby Federation guards that were stationed at the lab's door made a noise of alarm but none said a word.

After a few more moments of complete silence, Bishop moved his fingers over to the controls and sent a command for a vid chat with General Blanque. It was time to terminate their partnership. The brash, arrogant man appeared on the screen minutes later. "Something I can do for you, Agent Bishop?" His pose was relaxed and guarded at the same time. After all, their partnership was built upon opportunity for both sides. Blanque had supplied the leader of the EPF the technology and the facility to conduct his experiments and Bishop supplied him with data regarding other alien life to help expand the Federation empire. Of course, John was careful and filtered the information before sending it. "Did you create your super soldier?" The red-haired man's eyes sparkle with interest.

Adjusting his glasses, Bishop scrunched his face. "The experiment was a failure. The Triceraton DNA you supplied me corrupted what I had." He paused and then stood up straighter, squaring back his shoulders. "I'm scrubbing the project."

"Can't you try again?" The General nonchalantly asked.

Bishop moved over to shattered laptop and dug through the pieces. Luckily, the hard drive was still intact. He salvaged that and began to pack up the rest of his things. He noticed that Blanque's eyes were squarely on. "I'll need more samples and will need to do more research." His eyes evaded away from the test subject. Such a grotesque site to him! An insult to his knowledge! Just being in the same room as it taunted him. He needed to get back to Earth and go to plan B.

Blanque recoiled slowly back into his chair and relaxed his arms on his desk with his hands clasped together. "The Federation appreciates Earth's aid in our fight against the Triceratons. We thank you- "

"Terminate it." Bishop hissed through his teeth, cutting the general off.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Send that," He pointedly said as he motioned to the subject. "To termination. Deal with it. I'm heading to the shuttle."

Blanque rubbed his chin. "I'll send a transport to recover it, Agent Bishop. I would like to study it first."

"Fine." Bishop severed the connection and moved towards the shuttle. He spent far too long away from Earth for many months. He put all his time and attention to the project. He didn't know what he would expect when he got back.

"Sir! We are out of hyper space and approaching the target Federation base now." The Triceraton pilot called back to Commander Mozar.

Mozar acknowledged with a snarl as he stood up from his seat. He turned to address the small group of soldiers that accompanied him on this mission. Their sensors had detected increased Federation activity in the sector and their drones uncovered a possible Federation base. It seemed like an easy target and it was far off from the Federation that attacking it would be simple. "Listen up. The Federation scum is trying to hide this base. Let's take it out from under them!" The others stood up and cheered as they loaded their rifles.

Once the transport slowed down to connect the docking tube, one soldier moved ahead to cut an entrance inside. Few minutes later, they gained access. Mozar led the charge with his rifle in hand. "To victory!"

In a two by two formation, the Triceratons raided the facility but the fight was not quite what they expected. Only a handful of Federation troops resisted and were not their match. Several Triceratons moved ahead of Mozar to cover all the rooms to make sure there was not going to be any ambushes. With a hand wave, Mozar got the signal it was all clear and moved past the dead bodies that littered the halls. He eyed each corpse carefully as he walked. If this was a base, why was the Federation so light in security? It was no fight at all and almost an insult to him.

One of his fellow soldiers stood guard at the room at the end and saluted as he approached. "Sir, we found something."

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Mozar followed him in the room that was setup as if it was a lab.

"I-I don't know how to describe it, sir. The Federation was trying to create something."

Mozar tried his best to look with his helmet on. In the room was a large test tube that housed what appeared some sort of infant reptile. The longer he looked on, he almost thought for sure that the creature exhibited some Triceraton but clearly not one of them. "By the gods…" He reached out and touched the tube with his gloved hand.

"Should we destroy it, sir?" The Lieutenant asked.

Mozar remained quiet and looked back to see all his troops were now gathered at the entrance to the room. Their eyes locked on the discovery. "Any data to take with us?"

"No, sir."

Mozar snorted in frustration and then looked back at the infant in front of him. "There's a reason why the Federation was here. Whatever this is, it could prove useful to us. I want this transported back to the homeworld. The Primeleader should see it."


	2. Chapter 2

Phase II

Current...

" _Agent Bishop. I wanted to check in_."

Bishop took a breath before diverting his attention away from the monitor to address the caller. He wasn't surprised that this was the third "follow up" call this week. The check-ins became more frequent. A sign of clear desperation. All he knew was that whoever this person was sounded like a clear defector of Shredder and they were smart. Had to be. Any traitor to Shredder would have an automatic death sentence and probably not a quick one. Each call was untraceable and came through a voice scrambler. More importantly, they had access to material that he needed to start up his experiments. This intrigued him. How did Shredder gain this? A mental note to follow up on later. "The tests are not complete. I will inform you once they are," He lied. The project surpassed the one he tried years ago, thanks to a little patience and luck, but he needed to learn more. So much more.

"When?" The voice scrambler couldn't deny the haste in the caller's tone. "I'm putting a lot on the line for this."

"How did you inquire the DNA?" Bishop countered. A question that he had pondering for a while. Ever since the package arrived at his doorstep.

A beat. "You think you're the only one that created a mutant turtle, Bishop?" The connection went dead.

The caller's enigmatic sentence plagued John's mind as he stood there deep in thought. He was quite aware of the sightings of the four that roamed the streets of Manhattan and now were the announced enemies of the Foot. His first inclination was to capture them, but again Bishop was a patient man. He needed to learn more about them. Where they go? Where they live? Who do they have encounters with other than Shredder? If a defector was willing to double-cross one of the most powerful men in the city, then something was going to happen very soon….

A smirk slid across the man's face as he pivoted on his heel to head back to the adjoining room that had more light in it than the current one. Upon the examination table was a pale white bipedal humanoid female turtle restrained. An IV could be seen in her right arm that housed multiple contusions. The only source of food that he would consider on giving her to keep her alive. The rest of her body was covered in healing lacerations, patches where skin samples were taken. Her pale blue eyes slowly opened but then quickly closed to shield herself from the bright light that shined right down on top of her. Her instinctive reaction was to push against the straps that held her down. "You are getting restless." Bishop smiled as he reached down to the cart beside him that housed numerous medical tools. "I should start today's test now."


	3. Chapter 3

Message from Shredder

"The East district is running scared. Why should they? Shredder didn't come back." Don Ferelli chuckled as he rocked back and forth calmly in his imported leather chair at his desk. The slick black haired man placed his smart phone down and gazed across his cherry wood desk at his second hand, Marco.

Marco shifted a little in his metal chair, feeling the cool surface underneath the palm of his hands that rested on the edge. "You sure?" Everyone had been freaking out; ever since the sightings of the Shredder returned.

"It was some dumb broad who was pretending to be Shredder." Ferelli tossed the question aside as he reached into the top drawer to retrieve a cigar. After lighting it up and taking a puff, he tapped the cigar against the glass ash tray on his desk. "Why would I be scared of a woman? Let the others cower. That's more business for us. Get the car ready."

Marco jumped out of his chair dutifully at the request. "Want me to get Baxter on the phone?" Anticipating his boss' course of action.

Ferelli took another puff from his cigar and placed it down in the tray. "He turned tail and no longer supports us. I never did trust him. Kind of a loon."

After Marco left the office, the leader of the West district family shifted his green eyes over to the other man standing in the room. "Dante, tell the boys to stock up. Time to tell them we are not scared of the pretender. Shredder is dead. I'll take this whole city."

Not giving his phone another thought, Don Ferelli muttered under his breath about the whole ordeal between the mob, the Foot and the Purple Dragons as he leaned down to the lower part of his desk to retrieve his bottle of Moscato wine and the glass. It was time to start the celebrations early. Pouring himself a glass, Ferelli sighed and swirled the liquid around before taking a sip. He slowly swallowed it, letting the sensation of the alcohol tingle all over his body. Nodding his head in approval of the vintage, he started to pour more, but stopped short when movement from the far corner of the office in front of him caught his attention. With nightfall and only the floor lamp behind him providing light, different parts of his office remained in darkness. Shaking his head, he first ignored the movement, assuming that it was only a figment of his imagination. However, when clearly a formed body stepped out, he shot backwards from his desk in his wheeled chair. Were his eyes deceiving him? Departing from the refuge of the shadows and exposing itself to light stood a humanoid average height mutant turtle. Its form was slender and the garments that covered it almost resembled the Elite Guard that some of his men talked about that served the Shredder. The insignia on its clothes clearly showed the Foot symbol. The turtle remained quiet as it stepped closer to him and casually walked around the desk to get right in front of him. "I have a message from Shredder," The female turtle spoke.

"He's dead." Ferelli retorted as he inwardly grimaced. Looking around her, he noticed the hidden drawer in his desk that housed a firearm. "What would a dead guy want?" He had to keep this thing talking to distract it.

"He's very much alive. Master Shredder wants your silence." The answer was met with the display of a Tanto. The lamp light shined upon the displayed metal edge.

Fearing for his life, Ferelli scurried back further in his chair and before he had a chance to call out for his men, the intruder extended her forearm and quickly slashed his throat with the Tanto. The blade penetrated the skin, severing his vocal cord and the main artery. Clasping his neck, Ferelli's green eyes gaped up at her in disbelief as he felt the blood pouring constantly all over his hands. His pale form collapsed to the floor from his chair before he went lifeless.

"Hey, Boss, the car is ready. Do you- "Marco entered back in the office and came across the bloody scene. "Holy shit-…" The Elite spun on her heel to address him and Marco fumbled as he reached into his suit pocket to grab his pistol. Dropping the Tanto, the turtle retrieved her twin sais and slashed at his right hand just as the weapon was branded from his jacket. Feeling the sharp tip strike his skin, Marco recoiled and dropped his gun. He gripped his bleeding hand and stepped backwards to put more distance between him and the attacker. It was then he noticed that she was not human, but in fact a mutant turtle! "What the hell are you?!"

Hearing the commotion, the rest of Ferelli's men ran towards the office, but the Elite holstered her weapons and kicked Marco back into them. Flipping over the stumbling group, she ran deeper into the warehouse and retrieve explosive devices from her satchel and began to place them around key points of the infrastructure. Her speed was quick and precise and the confused mob were falling over one another trying to get to where she was. Unfortunately, they didn't take notice of her task at hand. Marco stood behind the armed group and peered to look over at the freak of nature one more time. "Shoot it!"

The turtle stopped and she lifted her head, almost smirking and then used a smoke bomb to mask her escape. Jumping through the second-floor window, she landed with both feet on a dumpster and then scurried across the street and up the staircase to the rooftops. By this time, the mob poured out at the door to see where she went. Just as they caught her form standing at a ledge that overlooked the warehouse, she brought out the detonator and ignited the charges. There was a few second delay before the warehouse exploded in an inferno and shockwaves rumbled through the streets. The unsuspecting men were thrown violently feet away from the building to their deaths as the building rubble collapsed on top of them. Standing silently, the Elite looked at the chaos, but then became alert to sirens approaching. Giving the building one more look, she darted across the rooftops back to where she came.


	4. Chapter 4

Shredder's New Force

Karai didn't have to wait until word of the assault on the mob flocked Shredder's headquarters, she saw the destruction from her bedroom window. The flicker of the flames lit up the night sky and she could see the red lights of emergency vehicles racing to the scene. She knew this had to be Shredder's handiwork. She cautioned her father with patience since he was still healing from the assault on the TCRI, but he didn't want to listen. Vengeance against his enemies consumed his every thought. He wanted to crush them all in one giant swoop. Hun and the Purple Dragons came crawling back after their defiance towards her. There was no surprise there. She just didn't understand why Shredder didn't kill him for betrayal. If this happened in Japan, she would have no hesitation even if they pledged their loyalty. Betrayal was betrayal.

The open assault on the mob would spark interest once again from the turtles and she made a vow to Leonardo that if he assisted her to regain control of the city for the Foot that she would make sure the city didn't suffer any more under the duress of the civil war. Storming to the makeshift hall that was created in the large boat that they took over at the docks, Karai stopped at the threshold to see Shredder's newest creation bowing down at his feet. Shredder's red eyes were transfixed on the mutant Elite guard and then his head lifted when he took notice of Karai's appearance. "Ah, Karai. It is good for you to come in and learn of the victory we gained this evening." He then motioned the turtle to stand back up from her position.

"Father, do you not think this action was premature?"

Shredder remained still and his firm stance glared hard at her. "No action is premature for what I have stored for my enemies. This attack was merely a test for Baxter's newest creation. I forgot to introduce the two of you. Karai, this is Kazari. The newest member of my Elite guard. The task tonight for her was only a test for what's to come."

"And what task is that?"

"I will use her to crush the turtles!" Shredder curled his fist tightly as anger filled his voice. "Their doom is long overdue and I'm tired of the failures."

Karai's eyes became wide with alarm and she gave Kazari a weary glance. "Father, I must intervene. I promised the turtles that I would remove them as our enemies for their assistance. If they didn't help, then we would have lost the city!"

Shredder growled as he slapped her across the face. "I will not be defied by you, Karai! You should have never promised such a thing! The turtles will die by my command!"

Staggering back, Karai looked at her adopted father in disbelief and wiped the blood from her busted lip. Her face stung sharply. Kazari stepped in to seize advantage of the situation. "Master, I am at your disposal. Let me have the honor to kill your enemies for you. The Elite Guard and I will not fail you."

"A fitting end for them indeed," Shredder chuckled lightly at the thought. "The turtles killed by a turtle." He paused as if he was giving the suggestion serious consideration and then shook his head, "No, you are not ready for this. You need more training. My Elite Guard has failed me many times before."

"Are you not satisfied with what I produced for you, Master Shredder?" Baxter's distinctive voice called at the doorway as a hovering apparatus hauling the container that housed his brain and eye maneuvered in.

"Baxter Stockman," Oraku Saki eyed the barely imitation of the once renowned scientist with delight. "You continue to live despite how much I desire to rid myself of you."

"Because you know I'm useful and you need me." Baxter's rebuttal came quick. Kazari tried not to make eye contact with the floating eyeball that appeared to be staring right at her. "She is perfect. Is she not? Just to show my loyalty to you."

Karai shook her head. "The Shredder doesn't need a mutant turtle clone to defeat his enemies."

"Afraid that I may outdo you?" Kazari smirked.

"Watch your tongue!" Oraku's daughter snapped with her fists clenched. "Master Shredder is still healing. We do not need attention to this place until we are ready!"

"I did what I was commanded. I serve the Foot clan and I know where my loyalties lie. Apparently, you do not since you reached a truce with the sworn enemy."

"Enough!" Shredder's voice boomed to silence their quarrel. "Karai, Kazari did what I asked her to do. Do not question her actions. As for you, Baxter, get back to the task at hand. Do not come back from the lab unless called upon."

Karai squared her jaw and bowed dutifully but her eyes lingered back over to her adversary. Kazari was lethal. Things were going to become dangerous and she feared that the temporary truce between her and the turtles would end quicker than she hoped.

Several days past and Karai remained vigilant at the rooftop to when she first met the turtles face to face. Just as she was about to give up on her effort, she heard someone's approach and turned around to see Leonardo standing there in a guarded stance. He lifted his eye ridge at her presence there, but remained silent. "It's good to see you, Leonardo."

"Skip the pleasantries, Karai. I saw what happened recently on the news. Care to explain." The blue bandana turtle crossed his arms as he waited for a reply.

Thinking about to Kazari's attack, Karai grew cross. "I did not order that strike against the mob!"

"They couldn't find any identifiable bodies from the remains. I thought we took care of all this when we helped the Foot regain control of the city." Leonardo's voice became pained as the exhausting stress of the turmoil hit him again. "You are just as trustworthy as the Shredder himself."

Karai felt hot tears fill her eyes from the accusation, though managed to fight the urge to defend her honor. Shredder's recovery was not shown to the turtles yet and she still was honor bound to protect her father. Once they knew he was alive, their interference would pick up. She didn't want that. Not yet. She cursed under her breath for even the idea of meeting up to alert him. "I didn't send the order, Leonardo!" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"Who did?" He bluntly replied. There was a brief pause and when she didn't respond, he continued, "I'm waiting." Pursing her lips, Karai remained tight lip as she tried to think of how to move around Shredder's order and place sole blame on Kazari. She was a threat to the turtles and to herself. "I thought you controlled the foot, Karai, now that the Shredder is dead. Are you telling me that someone went above your command for the order?" He shook his head. "I find that hard to believe. So, tell me, how many of your soldiers did you dispatch for your dirty work? Five? Ten?"

Karai lifted her head as she finally held his glare. "One."

The answer sort of rattled the turtle in front of her and he quickly uncrossed his arms. "One?" Karai nodded her head in response. "One Foot ninja couldn't have infiltrated that mob's hideout and kill all those men. Even by your training."

"It was an Elite guard and make no mistake, Leonardo, I did not give the order to them."

Leonardo cringed at the description of the assailant. Flashbacks of the Elites' assault on him started to fill his mind. "What are you saying?" His mouth became dry.

"Change is coming, Leonardo." Karai turned to head over to the roof's ledge. Her black hair wavered a bit from the small breeze. Her eyes panned over the skyline. "Be alert. I won't be able to save you."


	5. Chapter 5

Terrapin

Michelangelo was the first to enter their lair that night when they returned from the Nexus. Performing a perfect somersault over to the couch, he laughed giddily in delight as he eyed the television set. The prime spot to display his crowning achievement: The Battle Nexus trophy. "Should I have this sit on this side?" He gingerly placed the fragile crystalized item on the left side of the tv. "Or maybe the right?" He lifted upon his toes to slide the trophy over to the right.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Raphael snatched the trophy out of Michelangelo's hands and threateningly held it out from him. "Maybe we should just take it to the garbage dump." The dark-skinned turtle chuckled at his statement.

The orange bandana turtle glared angrily over at his brother and clenched his fists. "Give that back, Raph!"

"Oh! Please do not hurt me Battle Nexus Champion!" Raph mocked his younger sibling as he juggled the trophy from hand to hand.

Growling out, Mikey tried to grab his prize back in vain. "Quit it, Raph! You are going to break it! You're just mad because I knocked you on your shell!"

"Just dumb luck, Mikey!" Raphael shot back hotly. "There's no way that you are better than me."

"Uh, hello. You ran into a wall!"

"Raphael!" Splinter scolded his son after having enough of the sibling rivalry demonstration. The red bandana turtle winced and then shoved the trophy against his brother's carapace. "Take your stupid trophy. You big cry baby."

Michelangelo stuck his tongue out tauntingly and then returned to his task. Splinter sighed as he watched on. "Michelangelo. A true warrior is humble at his victories." The rat knew that there was no way his son was listening to his advice.

Ignoring the norm, Donatello sat at his desk and pulled up his computer to check in on things. With the interdimensional travel, he wasn't too sure how much of their time had passed while they were in the Nexus compared to that dimension's time. He didn't bother to check the Ultimate Daimyo's calendar to secure data to compare when he returned. Inwardly, he scolded himself for overlooking the finding as he pulled up the local news feeds. His finger paused on the mouse as his brown eyes fell upon the article in front of him. A sense of dread hit the pit of his stomach. "Uh, guys…"

"What is it, Donnie?" Leonardo walked over to see what his brother was looking at and leaned over the chair's back.

"We were gone for weeks, and it looks like the Shredder didn't waste time to take back the city." He pointed to the screen at the headlines, "Oraku Saki donates a million to city for greenery project and rebuilds headquarters in Financial District."

Leonardo narrowed his eyes as he skimmed over the article. The city of New York, their city, fell hook, line and sinker to Saki's feign of partnership for the greater good. The same lies that he himself accept for truth years ago. A mistake he vowed he would never make again. Raphael seized the moment to put in his two cents, "You feel any guiltier, Leo, for helping Karai?" Leo shot him a glare, but fumed silently. He didn't want to get into the argument again with his brothers. From the bottom of his heart, he knew that his take on Karai was for right, especially for the city. The city that he loved. The city that housed his family and his friends: Angel, Casey and April.

"Raph, don't start this again," Donatello surprisingly spoke up with a grumble. The turmoil that spread within his family really hurt the olive green skinned turtle and he didn't want to repeat what happened when the city was at war. Enough was enough to him. Raphael rolled his eyes and moved over to his punching bag.

"Anything else, Don?" Leonardo refocused his attention back to his brother as he gave his brooding brother one more look.

Donatello scrolled down and then came to a stop at another article that summarized about an attack on the mob. "Well at least this wasn't too bad."

Leonardo scrolled down with his eyes to read what the article had to say and he had to reread a part of it several times to comprehend it. "Wha?" He gasped. "What the shell?!"

Donatello looked up at his brother with concern. "What is it?" He turned back to read the article himself and then his jaw dropped. "Uh…. how is that possible?"

"What is it?" Raph called out from his spot.

Michelangelo sprinted over to see what was going on and pushed his techy brother over. "Let me read" A beat. He scratched his head. "Come again?"

"What the hell are you guys reading?!" Raphael yelled in frustration.

Leonardo spun on his heel to address his brother and master. "Another mob was attacked, but this time they had one survivor." Raph gave his brother a confused look.

Donatello continued, "He claimed that a mutant reptile killed his five men and wounded him." The turtle paused and then minimized the window to bring up another. "Hold up. Awhile back, I came across an article to where a building in the mob territory was destroyed. They found remains from the ruins, but clearly no survivors. Related?"

Leonardo remained quiet as his mind flashed back to his talk with Karai following the attack, but never really disclosed the conversation with his family. Before he had a chance to speak up, Michelangelo chimed in, "A mutant reptile is doing Shredder's dirty work?"

"Maybe," Don switched back to the original window. "However, the victim was declared insane and sent for therapy."

Splinter noticed how tense Leonardo was getting in and watched him intently. "Is there something troubling you, my son?"

His master's question sparked the interest of his brothers and all eyes fell upon him. "Just thinking about something that Karai told me. She was cryptic about it, but she mentioned the earlier attack was in fact done by Shredder's forces, but just one. An Elite."

"The guys with the cool hats?" Michelangelo chuckled. "They are not that tough."

"She sounded like this one was different. Deadlier. That's all she would say."

"Sounds like she's feeding you a bunch of bologna, Leo." Raph shook his head. "She's just as deceiving as the Shredder. The mob got caught with their pants down and now some loon is trying to blame the attack on us. Simple as that."

Michelangelo nodded his head. "I sort of have to agree with Raph. I mean we are pretty much a rare item. Mint condition." He posed to show off his muscles and then stopped. "What if there were others out there?"

"Huh?" Donatello looked up from his computer.

The younger turtle gave a shrug. "I mean, wouldn't it be cool to have more of us out there?"

"I don't think we need another you, Mikey," Raph teased. "Besides, you said it yourself. We are it. Better off that way."

It had been hours since the council began their meeting. Prime Leader Zanramon sat at the head of the table. Ever since the terrapin creatures and the Fugitoid managed to teleport away from their forces, he had been on edge trying to find the robot and rampant up the attack on the Federation. The Triceratons' sworn enemy. Each general at the table talked about their forces against the Federation, but no one said a word about finding the Fugitoid's whereabouts. Zanramon sat quiet and tapped his claws against one another. "So, there's no new news to report to me?"

The Triceratons blinked and gave each other confused looks. Finally, one spoke up. "Sir, we had a major victory in the Zeta sector against the Federation, but we did lose fifty men."

Growling out in frustration, Zanramon pounded the table with his fist and shot up abruptly. "We should always have victory! What about the Fugitoid and the terrapin scum?!"

"We are still making efforts, but our forces are stretched thin fighting off the Federation counter strikes." Another one spoke up.

The doors to the council room slid open and in walked Prime Leader Zanramon's adopted daughter, Terrapin. She was a humanoid turtle with a spiky shell, a long tail, and bluish green eyes. Her outfit was like what the Prime Leader wore but was tailored to fit perfectly around her shell and a breathing apparatus was in her mouth since she couldn't breathe the same atmosphere that they were accustomed to. She was adopted by him many years ago, when Mozar brought her back from one of the Federation base raids. At first, he didn't want to keep her, but after she reached up with her tiny fingertips and brush the horn on his nose, he felt a warmth overcome him. The Prime Leader's eyes quickly fell back on his men when he heard them conversing among one another by her presence. Growling lowly, he pointed to the door. "Get out. Bring me back that Fugitoid!" His generals scrambled to obey the command and didn't make eye contact with Terrapin as they left.

Terrapin sighed heavily from their looks and stayed quiet until they were alone in the room. "Dad, why do they have to look at me like that? Slag, what is wrong with me? You haven't said anything about the other terrapins that everyone is talking about."

Zanramon gritted his teeth. "They don't concern you."

"I was the only terrapin here. Now there were more?" She rose her voice in protest. "I'm tired of everyone now acting like I'm an outsider!"

"You are my daughter!" Zanramon roared angrily as he clenched his fists tightly. The boom of his voice startled the turtle in front of him and she paused. "You are supposed to act with dignity and grace. It's bad enough that now I have to worry about when I send you away of what you may do." He rubbed his temple. "How do you think I felt when everyone knew my daughter was sent back to the homeworld after she acted up in development and shot herself in the foot?"

Terrapin crossed her arms. "Development? You wanted me to coward there! I can fight."

"Slag. I know Mozar has been training you. The war was getting bad with the Federation. I- "

"You were just looking out for me. Blah blah blah. I'm not a child anymore, dad." She clenched her jaw tightly as she looked at the bipedal dinosaur in front of her. "The Triceratons do not want me here. They keep calling me 'one of the terrapins.'"

"They will accept you if I command it." He countered calmly.

"Not when you are completely obsessing over the war and some robot!" Terrapin felt tears boil in her eyes and she fought the urge to show any weakness.

Fortunately for Zanramon, Mozar walked in and brought a halt to their discussion. "Prime Leader!" He saluted dutifully. "We may have found a way to track the Fugitoid's location. The analysis shows he's in another galaxy on a planet that is third from their sun."

Zanramon cheered loudly. For once, some good news! "Excellent, Commander Mozar. Dispatch fighters and nearest ships to that location."

Mozar squared his shoulders. "Sir, if we pull too much, we may lose ground we gained against the Federation."

Zanramon shook his head. "I want that Fugitoid!"

Terrapin lifted an eye ridge as she watched on. "So, we going now?"

Her father placed his hand on her shoulder softly. "Mozar and I will be going with our fighters. You will be going back to the homeworld."

"Dad! I want to help with this invasion! I'm older than some of the troops in our forces." She pleaded over to Mozar. "Tell him I can shoot."

Mozar nodded his head in approval. "The young Terrapin can shoot better than some we have now, sir."

"You are going to the homeworld and that's it. Mozar take her to the shuttle for transport immediately. We are already losing valuable time and I will hear no more of it."

Mozar motioned her to follow him. Terrapin stomped behind as she fumed. "What good will I possibly be there?" She asked out loud.

Mozar kept his gaze ahead as he walked. "You will be protected. You are the Prime Leader's most valuable asset."

"I think the damn robot is." Terrapin rolled her eyes as she huffed. Her mind went back to the reports of the terrorist terrapins and their plot to overthrow the Republic by snatching the Fugitoid. Maybe at least with them, she would feel not out of place. Even if it was a terrorist. Not even her father would understand her.


	6. Chapter 6

FRIEND OR FOE CHAPTER 6

BISHOP'S SECRET

Agent Bishop was a foe that the turtles never encountered. He was quick and he was deadly. He would go to any lengths to achieve his goals. If that meant testing on innocent mutants like Leatherhead, then he wouldn't mind dirtying his hands. The turtles were lucky that Casey, Splinter and April managed to discover the underwater entrance to the facility they were kept in. If they had been a few minutes late….Leonardo didn't want to even think what would happen to Michelangelo. The look in Bishop's eyes as he teased the blade along the younger sibling's skin was of pure evil with a mixture of sadistic pleasure. His head spun as he looked around at the poor lit operation room. Is this what fated he and his brothers in the years to come? For now Bishop was gone.

Donatello moved over to check on LH after Michelangelo helped him sit up from the table. He gingerly removed each of the IV's that were inserted into larger reptile's limbs. "Hang in there, big guy. I'll get you unplugged shortly," He soothingly said to their friend and ally.

Michelangelo was standing near the open hallway that led to deeper parts of the facility when the sound of movement from the adjoining room caught his attention. Instinctively, he took out his nunchakus and gripped the handles of them tightly. His head whipped back around to look at his brothers. "Psst, guys!" He tried his best to mask his voice to not let the unsuspecting neighbor nearby to be on alert. When the others looked at him, he motioned to the room with his head and placed a finger to his lips. Leonardo nodded his head in acknowledgment and removed his katana.

Leonardo separated the brothers with Mikey behind him and Raph and Don on the other side. He held up his fist to motion them to remain still and then waived them on. Raph and Don darted out first with their weapons drawn while Leo and Mikey brought up the rear. To their astonishment, there was no counter attack and they came face to face with a small cell that housed a female albino humanoid turtle. Her entire body was riddled with scars and track marks from needles. When she saw them come in, she screamed in alarm and recoiled tightly against the far wall of the cell with her knees drawn to her chest. Burying her head against her knees, she covered her face with her hands. Shell-shocked, the turtles lowered their weapons as they onlooked at the scene displayed in front of them. The prisoner and test subject of Agent Bishop began to sob in fear quietly to herself as she kept her eyes hidden from them.

Raph huffed to himself as he shoved his sais in his belt. He pointed to the captive with his thumb. "Is this the mutant turtle that is involved with Shredder?" He gave her another look. "She doesn't look very tough."

"I don't think so, Raph. She looks like she has endured Bishop's tests for a very long time and the attack was just recent." Don watched the prisoner. "Where did she come from?"

With a determined look in his eyes, Mikey holstered his nunchakus and slowly crept up to the cell. "Guys, you're scaring her. We can ask questions later, we need to let her know that we are not the bad guys." His blue eyes stayed fixed upon the test subject and he knelt down to become more eye level with her. "Hey, shhh. We are the good guys. We can get you out of here."

Looking around, Don found the key to the cell and gave it to Mikey. With a slow turn, Mike unlocked the door and opened it. Holding out a hand to her, he paused to see if she would take it. "I'm Mikey. I'm your friend."

"For the love of-" Raph rolled his eyes. Leo nudged him and motioned him to be quiet.

"I know you are in pain and you are scared. Our friend, Leatherhead, over there. The big guy. He was a test subject too. Bishop may come back. We need to get you out of here."

Lifting her head, the albino's deep blue eyes fell upon Mikey and then she looked back at the others. Her gaze remained on Raph and she shifted a bit. Mikey took notice and he glared hard back at his brother. "Go away, Raph! You're scaring her!" Raph opened his mouth to argue but this time Don silenced him. Michelangelo returned his focus on the female and kept his hand out. "Come on now."

The albino turtle sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her arm. "Leave me in here. Don't look at me. I'm ugly." She consciously began to try to cover up her body with her hands.

Mikey shook his head firmly. "No, way. Donnie can patch you up. Good as new! Right, Donnie?" He turned to give his older brother a big smile.

Hated to be put on the spot, Donatello rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh, you know I'm not really a doctor, Mikey, and she may need medical attention…"

Splinter moved past the turtles to get in closer. "Of course, my dear. We will help you."

The captive let out a scream of alarm as she saw the tall rat approach. "What are you?"

Michelangelo groaned. "Come on, Sensei…" He maneuvered a few inches forward inside the cell to try to block out everyone, but him to her. "I promise no one will hurt you and my Master Splinter is safe. I don't want Bishop to get his hands on you again."

After a few seconds of silence, she became reluctant to comply and gently placed her hand into his and let him lead her out of the cell. Slowly, she rose to stand up more and carefully looked at each one. "So, uh…"

"Oh!" Mikey chimed in first. "I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey." The youngest of the four smiled from ear to ear. "I am the most handsome of our group."

Raph thwacked Mikey on the back of the head. "Cool it, Mikey."

"Ow!" Michelangelo rubbed his sore head. "This is Raph. He's pretty grumpy so just stay clear from him. My other brothers are Leonardo and Donatello." He pointed to each in turn. "Do you have a name?" The girl turtle shook her head.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, guys. We already lost time with Bishop when General Blanque took the Fugitoid. We need to get him back before Earth becomes another battle zone."

"Don's right," Leonardo looked over at his master. "Sensei, can you and Leatherhead take her down to the lair with you guys? See what you can learn."

Splinter soothingly ushered her away. "Come, my dear. I'll fix you some hot tea and tend to your wounds."

Mikey waved as the group left. "See you soon!"

Days had passed since Terrapin was confined to her room. It felt like a prison to her. She would have rather went to the tribase again. Why was her father acting so obsessed over some robot? Who were the other terrapins that he was infuriated with? She silently told herself once she saw her father again, she would demand answers. She was tired of being kept in the dark. Especially when most Triceratons labeled her as a terrorist.

Just as she was about to doze off that evening, she heard loud commotion outside and the voices of guards running down the hallway. Jumping out of her bed, she sprinted to her door, but was not able to gain any access outside. The lock was still in place. Pounding on the metal door with her fist, she tried to grab her guard's attention. "Open up!" No response. Growling, she pounded harder. "Slag! Open up!"

A few moments later, the door slid open and blocking her path was Commander Mozar. The eye-patched Triceraton stared down at her hard, his expression was masked. This confused Terrapin and she stepped back some. "I heard a noise, Mozar. Everything okay?"

"There has been a revolution."


	7. Chapter 7

FRIEND OR FOE: CHAPTER 7

SANGO

"Hey, guys! I brought some goodies from the store!" April's voice filled the lair as she was the first to exit from the elevator with Casey in tow. The top of his body was hidden by a stack of pizza boxes.

"I have the food!" Casey added.

"About time you got here." Raph walked over to grab a few boxes from Casey before they toppled over. "What happened to fast delivery?"

"Hey, shell for brains. You try fightin' midtown traffic at five o'clock," The black hair man shot back as he followed Raph over to the couch. Along the way, he managed to wedge a piece out from the box to munch on. With his mouth of full of food, he continued to defend his tardiness, "Besides, I was doin' you guys a favor. Next time, let's see you try to pick up your own pizzas."

"Yeah, yeah," Raph plopped down in the middle of the couch and opened the top box. Taking a loud sniff, he smiled as his mouth savored from the sight. "Come to papa."

Mikey's head popped out of the kitchen. "Oh! Food's here!" He ran and took the space next to Raph.

April rolled her eyes and then looked at Leo who was walking up to her. "How is she doing?"

"She's up in Mikey's room and hasn't really come out much. Master Splinter managed to get most of her wounds healed, but her body will have scars on it forever." Leonardo shook his head. "I can't believe what Bishop did to her…."

"We still don't even know where she came from," Donatello joined in from his computer desk nearby. "I'm really hoping she talks to us soon."

April smiled as she pulled out some fabric from her bag. "Maybe this will cheer her up. I found different colors of fabric that I thought she could use to cover up her scars. That way she won't be so self-conscious about it."

Hearing what their friend brought, Mikey quickly dropped his pizza and zoomed over, taking the bag from April. "Thanks, dudette! I can take this to her!" Humming loudly to himself, he brandished the prized bag in his hands and jumped up to the upper ledge to enter his room. Donatello and Leonardo exchanged puzzled looks.

Inside Michelangelo's room, the female turtle they discovered at Bishop's facility, was sitting cross legged on the floor with a stack of comic books beside her. Mikey's presence first startled her, but then she smiled at him. "April brought you something," He exclaimed as he dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor and took his fingers to spread out each color of the fabric. "Now you can look really cool with these! Which color is your favorite?"

Examining each one carefully, she lifted a coral color tone. "I think I would look nice in this." Then she blinked, "But, uh, how?"

Pushing the discarded pieces aside, Mikey took the one she chose and then held it up to her. "Hmmm…" He posed like a director with his hand under his chin. "Your body would look great like…" His cheeks flushed. "I mean you would look great with this maybe wrapped around your arms and legs?"

Complying, she took the fabric and began to wrap it around her limbs to cover up her scars. Once completed, she walked around the room, mimicking a fashion model and then grinned. "What you think?"

Michelangelo sighed happily as he looked on. His voice was light as air, "You look so hot…"

Turning bright red, she squealed, "Michelangelo!"

Realizing what he said, Michelangelo snapped back to reality and felt his heart racing from embarrassment. "I mean…uh…you got the look going…you just need something else. Something is definitely missing." Taking some of the left-over material, he looked at her face and smiled. Retrieving some scissors from his desk, he cut out eye-holes and then motioned her to turn around as he slipped the makeshift bandana over her face. "Now, you look like one of us!"

She beamed as she tried her best to see all of her in the small mirror that was on the wall. Michelangelo looked on. "We need to show the guys." Grabbing her hand excitedly, he darted out of his room with her. "Hey, guys! Look at this!" Stopping at the top of the ledge, he cleared his throat loudly and made a trumpet sound with his mouth. "May I introduce to you…uh…. her!" He proudly stepped aside to reveal her new look.

"I like it," April smiled with a nod.

"Not too shabby. Like the bandana. Makes her look tough," Raph added.

"That was my idea," Mikey pointed out.

Leonardo smiled warmly at the pair. "Things are definitely looking up for her. What about a name?"

Becoming stumped, Mikey glanced at his new-found friend for any suggestions, but she only shrugged. "Well, she does like that coral color…what about Sanga!"

Everyone looked at one another in confusion. Donatello scratched his head, "Sega?"

"Typical that he would name her after a gaming console," Raph snickered to Casey.

"No!" Michelangelo protested. "It's like Japanese for Coral."

"Ah," Splinter spoke up. "You mean 'Sango', my son."

"Yeah, what he said. Like it?"

"Definitely." Sango smiled warmly at the turtle beside her.

"Hey, Sango, let's go topside. I know you are being suffocated in here." He grabbed her hand and jumped down to the main level.

"I am not so sure that's a good idea, Mikey. With the increased Foot activity and the debris from the Triceraton invasion, the city could be more dangerous," Leonardo held up his hand to stop them.

"Aw, come on, Leo," His brother whined. "I am a ninja after all. I can teach Sango to be all stealthy like the rest of us."

"That takes time, Mikey. You just don't learn it overnight."

Not giving up, the blue-eyed tossed his master a pleading look. Splinter gave his nod of approval. "You may go topside, but not too long, my son. It may do her some good to get out of here. After all, she is our guest. Not our prisoner."

Taunting his oldest brother with a laugh, Mikey moved to the elevator to go topside. It wasn't every day that his master would take his side over Leonardo's. Raphael decided to get in the rivalry. "Be careful on your date, Mikey. Remember your curfew." He and Casey snickered as they made kissy sounds.


	8. Chapter 8

FRIEND OR FOE

CHAPTER 8

EXILE

Whispers flowed among the halls like deranged music and their sour notes drowned Terrapin's ears. The same chord repeated itself over and over. The Triceratons no longer wanted her there. She was "not one of them." They "tolerated her far too long because of the Prime Leader." Now he was in his cell, awaiting his trial for whatever charges the revolutionists accused him of. The Republic was changing and they were determined to get rid of the "old." It could be any day that they decide to blast her out of the airlock or sentenced her to some mine for hard labor.

Settling to not to let them have the opportunity to determine her fate, Terrapin marched down to the cell block to see her father. One last time. Two well armed guards blocked her path with their rifles pointed squarely on her. "Halt, Terrapin. You do not have access to this sector," The one on the left gruffly said.

"I'm here to visit Prime Leader Zanrammon," She emphasized his title, clearly knowing that it didn't carry much weight, but she felt so betrayed by them all. The revolution turned her world upside down and she was helpless to defend him.

The guard didn't flinch at the request or the demand. "You are-"

"She may pass," A familiar voice cut him off. Terrapin pivoted around to see Mozar standing there behind her. His face solemn as his good eye looked down at her. "She is his daughter after all." Terrapin blinked at him coming to her defense, but then changed her facial expression to a cold glare. After all, he was one of the traitors.

"Don't do me any favors," She snapped.

Mozar didn't reply as he motioned the guards to step aside and then moved ahead to the cell block. "He and General Blanque are kept on the south end. I cannot let you enter the cell, but you can talk to him through the shield."

Terrapin felt her eyes fill up. "I have a right to hug my dad one last time."

"He is waiting his trial on serious charges. I cannot let you enter at the moment. Once the trial is concluded then-"

"You will execute him," She accused him.

Mozar stopped in midstride and sighed hard. "The High Council will determine his fate. I will be called to testify as a witness and I will propose-"

Terrapin rolled her eyes as she shoved past him to go on her own. She didn't want to talk any longer with him. She just wanted to see him. Mozar picked up his pace to keep up. "I can arrange more training once this is over with."

"Don't bother. No one wants me here anymore. I'm not a Triceraton."

"Where will you go?"

Terrapin ignored his question and stopped when she came to the cell that her dad was in. He was sitting down in a corner with his head slumped up against his hand. His clothes were wrinkled where he wore them for days and he looked tired. General Blanque was in the adjoining cell and his face became scraggly from lack of shaving. Dark circles rimmed his eyes as he gaped at her. It almost seemed that he aged while he was being held. Terrapin returned her focus on her father and stepped closer with her hand gently on the cell shield. "Dad…"

Lifting his head slowly, Zanrammon looked in her direction and his eyes lit up. "Daughter!" He quickly got up and walked over to her. He shifted his gaze to Mozar who was standing at the door way. "What's he doing here?" He growled angrily.

"Being annoying," Terrapin shot Mozar another heated look. The one eyed Triceraton didn't speak or flinch.

"I had traitors all around me," The ex Prime Leader shook his head. "We were so close to finishing off the Federation when their ships were down. Mozar grew too soft."

"Ha!" Blanque stood up. "You horn heads were beaten. You're just lucky that the Fugitoid's virus stopped us."

Zanrammon yelled out in rage. "You are the very reason why I'm locked in this cell with you! This is torture! Mozar! I demand to be moved away from him!" The Commander remained still as he listened in.

The orange hair man turned his focus on Terrapin. His eyes looked almost right through her as he studied her form. "You…look...familiar…like I have seen you before."

"Leave my daughter out of this, Blanque," Zanrammon shot at him.

The man shook his head. "No, I'm serious." He reflected back to his memory to try to jog it. His eyes widen. "The creature that Bishop created using Triceraton DNA? I saw the image on the vid screen!"

Terrapin looked at him as if he lost his mind, but didn't give a remark. Zanrammon chuckled. "You have grown mad, General Blanque."

Finally Mozar spoke up, "He is correct. When we raided the Federation outpost many years ago, I came across the Terrapin when she was only a hatchling."

"We were going to destroy it," Blanque laughed at his insight. "Look at you! You would have been a terrific fighter for the Federation!"

"Impossible!" Zanrammon cut him off. "She wouldn't dare help Federation scum like you and she is my daughter!"

"She's not even a Triceraton!" The man continued to laugh.

"Shut up!" Terrapin screamed as she cupped her hands over her ears. The unveiling of her creation was too much for her to take in. She was already trying to handle her dad's imprisonment. She always knew that she wasn't one of them, but never really questioned about where she came from. Her dad never talked about it. Creation and Bishop now were terms that drilled inside her brain. Feeling suffocated, she clenched her fists and found the courage to move on with what she planned to do. "Dad, I'm leaving."

Zanrammon gaped at her. "What do you mean?" He then growled at Mozar. "You cannot send her away!"

Terrapin stepped in to block his view of the commander. "He's not. I am doing this myself. The Triceratons no longer want me here. You cannot deny it. I heard it out of their mouths when you still reigned and it has gotten worse. Mozar will try to do what he can to ensure my safety, but I can't be around them especially him," She paused and gave Mozar an icy stare. "I have nothing left for me here now that you are gone."

Zanrammon opened his mouth to interject a rebuttal, but no words came out. Instead, he sighed and placed his hand on the cell wall that separated the two apart. "Where will you go?"

"I can't be alone," Terrapin quickly answered. She already thought about this before she went down to see him. There was only one option for her. She was a Terrapin and there were other Terrapins out there. Even if she found no love for them, she needed to be with her own kind right now. "I'm going to the planet Earth. The same planet you tracked the Fugitoid to."

"Earth?" The answer baffled him. "Why there?"

"The other terrapins are there. I want to see what my kind is." A beat. "I won't be friends." She had to let him know that she simply wasn't turning her back against him and siding with one of their declared enemies. "I can't be here for your sentencing…especially if they-"Her mouth fell dry as her brain thought about the worst case scenario: His execution.

Zanrammon nodded his head gravely. His hand rested on the cell wall and the entire room fell silent. It created the illusion that they were the only ones in the room. "I-I…understand, daughter. I'm sorry that I failed you…"

Suddenly the barrier disappeared and they both turned to look at Mozar at the controls. "I trust that you will try not to escape, Prime Leader. I will allow you to say goodbye."

Terrapin turned her head back to look at her dad whose eyes were filled with tears as well. She leaped closer into his embrace and felt his hands sliding around to hold her tightly. Her face buried against his upper right torso and she felt his head resting on top of hers. "I'll prey to the gods that I can get back to you."


	9. Chapter 9

FRIEND OR FOE

CHAPTER 9

UFO

"Michelangelo!" Sango scrunched up her face as she looked up from her drawing. The turtle had broken his pose and the movement made her lose concentration. Turning the pencil around, she erased the sketch in frustration.

"What?" Mikey whined as he sighed and got back into his heroic stance. "I can't stand here for hours."

"It's been five minutes," Raph corrected as he took a gulp from his water bottle as he sat on the couch. The day had been pretty calm and everyone was off doing their own things. Raphael didn't mind. He pretty much liked it when he was by himself and could do whatever he wanted without Leo nagging. Unfortunately for his older brother, Leonardo was dragged off into training by Master Splinter. The pair was in his dojo working on the newest meditation technique.

After several weeks from residing with the turtles, Sango had opened up to her rescuers and new found friends. She and Mikey hit it off pretty quickly and spent almost every hour of the days together. He would show her comics and she would draw pictures for him. Mostly of him. She did have a knack for drawing. Though, she never really talked about her time as Bishop's captive. The subject matter made her grow tense and quiet. Donatello said it was probably best not to have her shut down completely. With the wrappings that April supplied her, she was more confident of her look and not ashamed of what her body went through.

"Guys! Quiet! I can't hear the scanner!" Donatello yelled over their talking from his workstation. He leaned his head closer to the device to make out the call.

"What's that?" Sango blinked as she looked over.

"Donnie uses it to spy on people," Michelangelo explained.

His brother heard the comment and made a face. "Not spying. Trying to see what's going on."

"Sounds like spying to me, Donnie boy." Raph smirked as he jumped over the back of the couch and walked over to where his techie brother resided.

" _Unit 27_." The dispatcher's voice came through the scanner.

" _Unit 27, go ahead_." The officer responded.

" _We have another sighting near 81_ _st_ _street and Central Park. I'm sending Unit 32 as well_."

" _Roger that. Unit 27 enroute to the call. Keep line open."_

" _Keeping line open for further communication."_

Donatello gave a confused look to Raph. "Another one?"

"I may have missed the beginning. So, what we are actually tryin' to listen' to?"

"Calls are coming into the Port Authority Station indicating that there's an unidentifiable flying object that may have landed in the park."

"UFO?" Mikey perked up and raced over. "Don't tell me it's the Triceratons again."

"I'm not sure. We should probably check it out." Donatello rose up from his seat to retrieve his bo staff. "Should we grab Leo?"

"Nah, we can handle this on our own. A few more of those horn heads is not a threat." Raph twirled his left sai.

"Can I bring Sango? She will get bored if she stays here." Michelangelo hopefully asked as he looked back at her.

"What's a Triceraton?" Sango blinked.

"Big ugly dinosaurs," Raph chuckled.

"I think you should stay here with her, Mikey. If we are dealing with a few more of those guys, we may not be able to protect her." Don gave a weary glance back at him and her.

"Awe, man." Mikey grumbled as he kicked the floor with his foot, but moved back over to Sango. "Don't worry. We can watch a movie here until they return."

Meanwhile at Central Park, several NYPD vehicles blocked the park's entrance as the officers raced inside with guns drawn. A few kept back to prevent civilians from interfering. Sergeant O'Riley took point and was the first to come across the craft that landed in the clearing up ahead. A few straggling civilians that didn't bother to leave the park at night were taking pictures of the UFO with their smart phones and selfies. O'Riley cursed. He tapped the nearest officer on the shoulder. "Get them out of here."

"What do we do now?" Lieutenant Harris asked as he came up to his left. "This is like the military's job."

"Well, kid. For now it's ours. Let's not provoke this thing. Keep a perimeter and hopefully the damn FBI will get here."

"Don't you mean the TSA?" Harris whispered.

"Somebody besides me."

Luckily, for Terrapin, as soon as she landed the craft, she managed to exit and find a hiding spot before people came to investigate. The inhabitants of Earth appeared to be the same form as Blanque. She cursed under her breath. "Federation scum." Staying still in the shadows, she looked around at her surroundings. Earth was nothing she ever seen before and where were the supposed terrapins? Just her dumb luck. She could be stranded here with no one like her at all and so far away from her dad…

Noticing that everyone's attention was on her space craft, she moved deeper into the park to a clearing and paused to see several downed Triceraton fighters. One was in pieces and it appeared that someone was salvaging it. The other looked untouched yet. Seeing that the coast was clear, she moved quickly to gain access. If the terrapins weren't here as she thought, this may be her only ticket home if it was still flyable.

"Now what, Brainiac?" Raphael grumbled as he leered over the Natural History Museum's roof' ledge to see their query tightly secured by the NYPD.

Donatello used his night vision goggles to survey the nearby park area and used the zoom to get a closer look. "It's hard to read the craft's markings, but it's definitely Triceraton in its shape. But why would just one show up?"

"You think Zanrammon got loose?"

"I doubt it."

"So if you were some big dino in the Big Apple. Where would you go?"

Donatello looked west with his goggles where the salvage was already taking place on some vessels that crashed on Earth during the invasion. "To grab more weapons?"

Raphael followed his gaze. "Worth the shot to look. The authorities have this one pretty much locked down."

Donatello lifted his goggles and took the lead. "Besides if something does go wrong, we can just follow the screams."

A drone was with the insignia of Baxter Stockman hovered in the sky near the park and museum. Its focus was on the crowd of people trying to see what was going on behind the barricades. Baxter Stockman watched the footage from his lab in Saki's headquarters. "This looks interesting." He maneuvered the drone to rotate around and saw a glance of the turtles' backs jumping across a rooftop to head to another part of the park. Racing the drone in pursuit, he quickly lost sight of them. "Argh! There has to be a way to see what's going on. Especially with the turtles involved… "The holograph of his face remained tight lip as he pondered. " I have to get back on Shredder's good graces or I fear there won't be anything else he can take from me. Karai cannot be trusted and Hun is an imbecile…" Then he grinned big.

Few minutes later, the door to his lab opened and in stepped Kazari. "What is it?"

"I thought I would do you a favor, my dear." Baxter ushered her over to the live feed from his drone that still showed the event going on in the park.

Kazari tilted her head as she watched. "I don't understand…"

Baxter rewound the footage and froze on the image of the turtles' back to the screen. "The turtles were spotted in the same location. Though, they managed to elude me. Master Shredder didn't want you to face them because he's afraid you will be weak."

She lifted an eye ridge. "I'm not weak."

"I know you are not, but you did want to see what kind of adversary you would be facing. What if you go on a scouting mission and see what you can find out?"

Kazari bit her lip. "I'm supposed to obey Master Shredder." Baxter could tell her curiosity was getting the best of her as her eyes stayed glued to the screen.

"And you are. He didn't want you to fight them, which you are not. And if you do, well I'm sure you could win and then he would be most gracious." Baxter smiled at the screen as he stepped closer with his back to her. When there was no answer, he turned to see that she was gone. A smirk spread across his holographic lips. "And when she kills one of them, I will take the glory of it. Karai and Hun will be the ones suffering." A sinister laugh escaped the audio box in his robotic suit and filled the room.


	10. Chapter 10

FRIEND OR FOE

CHAPTER 10

FRIEND OR FOE

The downed tri-fighter was not salvageable at all. Terrapin quickly identified that one of the wings was nearly severed and fluids had flushed out onto the grass. Some of the outer hull was charred from a fire, but luckily it didn't penetrate the cabin. Gently running her fingertips along with the metal, Terrapin stepped quietly towards the hatch. Just touching the familiar spacecraft made chills go down her body. How she missed her home. Second time of entering the security code gained her access into the craft. Quickly the smell of death entered her nostrils and she fought the urge to vomit as bile came up her throat. Her reptilian skin tingled as goose bumps spread across. A voice in the back of her mind ached for her to turn around to protect the sickening memory of what she may find in the now tomb. Shaking her head to clear her mind of the fear, she pressed ahead. She needed to see this. She needed to see what became of her comrades, her family. She needed to see what the terrapins did to her adopted kind. Being away from her father may make her weak and she couldn't let him down.

The tri-fighter was just for short range missions such as combat or reconnaissance. A short hallway led to the cabin where the pilot and gunnery would have sat single file. The impact of the crash seemed to violently jar their bodies to where their restraints were snapped apart and their bodies became projectiles like everything else in the ship. Both appeared to have quick deaths: The gunnery's body was bent in an unnatural position, his head snapped back, severing the spinal cord. The pilot had a major gash to his head to where he was thrown back against his seat and then forward into the glass canopy. The trajectory caused his cranium to shatter the glass that allowed oxygen and carbon dioxide to pour in. If she was wrong and they didn't die from their initial wounds then they were poisoned and had to suffocate. Her knees became wobbly as she let her eyes linger longer than they should have had. Bracing up against the side of the cabin, Terrapin steadied herself and felt hot tears come to her eyes. At least these two died with bravery in fierce combat for the Republic and the gods would greet them in the afterlife as warriors.

Hearing unfamiliar voices at the hatch, Terrapin reached for one of the dead Triceraton's weapons and checked the magazine. It was fully loaded and charged. Whoever was following her had to be dealt with.

"Donnie, we shouldn't be near this thing. It's right in the open!" Raph raised his voice as high as he would allow to not draw any more attention to them.

"I've never been close to one before like this…fascinating." Don was in the darkened hallway studying the exterior layout of the ship. He ran his hand along the metal. "I don't think it's alloy..."

Raphael rolled his eyes. It was his mistake to team up with the resident genius. "Bishop is going to say the same about us if we do not get our shells out of here." He gave a weary glance back to where they came. If the authorities did come to their location, they were trapped in this thing. He didn't like it. When he turned back around, Donatello was nowhere in sight. Groaning, he went inside to pursue his brother.

Donatello meanwhile was distracted at the find, and came nose to nose with a Triceraton blaster. Tensing up, he froze and tried to resist the instinct to reach for his bo staff. Whoever, was holding the trigger on the other end, better not be justified for their choice to pull the trigger. Looking around the weapon, he saw the unthinkable! A humanoid turtle just like them! However, she seemed to have some sort of Triceraton features to her. "What the shell-"

"That's far enough, terrapin scum." Terrapin clenched her teeth as she gripped the handle.

Seeing his brother in trouble, Raph pulled out his sais and charged in. Hearing his brother, Donatello whirled to stop him before he made the situation worse. "Raph, wait!" Luckily, he was able to stop his hot headed brother in time. Now the two of them were at a show down with her.

Raph growled, but even he blinked to see their attacker. "What the-?"

Terrapin dropped her arm a bit seeing them. They looked a lot different than what her imagination played them off to be after hearing Triceratons talk about their entanglements with the creatures. Realizing that she was losing her focus and making herself vulnerable, Terrapin shook her head and raised her arm back up. "Back up."

"This is our turf!" Raph shot back as he looked at her.

"Raph!" Donatello nudged his brother. "Let's not provoke her. She does have the blaster." He proceeded to take a few steps back to put more space between them. Raph reluctantly complied but his finger itched on his sais. "I didn't mean to scare you. You-you're not-"

"A Triceraton? So?" Terrapin kept the blaster still.

"You're a turtle," Raph said flatly. "Why hang out with these horn heads?"

Terrapin took a quick look back to see her dead comrades once more and growled. "I'm Prime Leader Zanrammon's daughter, Terrapin. I came here because…" She paused. "I have nowhere else to go…"

Donatello gave his brother a concerned look. He knew that following the attack on Earth, eventually Zanrammon was overthrown by Traximus and his followers. The Republic was no longer to be corrupt and they would have a new focus now. Hopefully that would lead Earth out of it. Still, her appearance dabbled with his scientific mind. He needed to know more about her origin. Was it a pure coincidence that she was found right after they discovered Sango? How many more terrapins were there? Sango wasn't talking yet, but maybe he would get some answers with her.

Raphael drew them back to reality. "I hate to cut this short. We probably need to get out of here. We can continue introductions somewhere else."

Donatello nodded his head, "I agree."

"No offense, you won't fit in out there," Raphael pointedly said to Terrapin as he motioned to her form. "Best you come with us."

Terrapin shook her head. She had to keep her distance from the terrapins. After all, they were the sworn enemy of her father. "I'm not here to make friends." She openly said, but it was more of a command for herself.

"The people out there definitely do not want to be friends. I'll explain later but if you stay here, you are going to be Agent Bishop's next experiment." Donatello urged as he peeled his attention towards the hatch. They did linger too long here. He was afraid if the debate continued, they would have to carry her. Leaving her was not an option.

Looking back at the fallen Triceratons, Terrapin knew that she didn't have a choice and cursed for putting herself in the predicament. Silently agreeing, she followed Raph and Donatello out of the tri fighter and back into the refuge of Central Park's darkened areas.

Donatello led the group on a zig zag trail before finally stopping in a deserted alley. They stood near the middle to keep from the attention of passerby's and cars that continued to travel down the busy streets bumper to bumper. Now he had to decide on where they would go. He definitely couldn't consider her an ally to take her back to the lair nor with their friends, April and Casey.

"You said back there that you're Zanrammon's daughter." Raph cut to the chase as he watched her with his arms crossed. "Care to explain that."

"Not to mention that he hates turtles." Donatello mumbled.

"He hates you terrapins." She corrected as she let the busy streets distract her gaze.

"The feeling is mutual. Trust me." Raphael propped one knee up against the alley's wall as he listened in attentively.

Terrapin glared back at him. "Because of you. My father is in prison, awaiting a trial and the Triceraton Republic does not trust me because they think I'm a terrorist just like your four. That brand was placed on me after you attacked my home world!"

"It's a long story," Donatello decided to pipe in to keep things cordial. "Believe me, we wanted to get home, but we had to help our friend, Professor Honeycutt. Both the Triceratons and the Federation were after him.

All the talk about Triceraton involvement made Terrapin's heart twist. She desired greatly for things to be the way they were. Even during the time her father was obsessed about finding the robot. Why did she leave him? "I just want to go back home…"

"Huh?" The statement threw Raphael off and he stood back on both feet once more.

"Are you from the home world? Is that where you were born?" Donatello pressed with his curiosity seething at his lips.

Terrapin shook her head as she thought back to what General Blanque said to her. "I know I was raised by Zanrammon, but he never really talked about where I came from…not until the other day….." Blanque's facts still jumbled around in her mind like a complex equation. "Blanque was muttering about an experiment and some guy named Bishop."

"Bishop!" Raphael growled angrily as he pounded the wall with his fist. "I knew that whack job was involved."

"Who is he?"

"Someone who is very dangerous…" Donatello sighed. Their recent run ins with the government funded agency and their founder were becoming too frequent and exhausting. It was bad enough that years ago that they had to deal with the Shredder. He then smiled at their guest. "I can try to help you return to your home world…uh.."

"Terrapin."

"That's your name?" Raph scratched his head lightly with the tip of his sai.

"That's what they gave me. And no. I'm not going home. I was exiled." Terrapin accepted the obvious and slid down along the wall into a sitting position. She hugged her knees to her chest.

"They exiled you?" Raphael moved in closer with concern.

Terrapin shook her head. "I exiled myself. It was either that or watch the fate of my father. If I stayed, I would either befall the same or constantly be reminded of how I'm not them." She growled lowly as she pounded the ground beside her with her fist.

Raphael looked up at Don before standing up to rejoin his brother to give her some time. "We can't leave her here."

"I agree, but is the lair safe?" Donatello tried to keep his voice low so she wouldn't hear his concern.

"You know I'm careful. I'll talk to her, bro. If I think we can trust her, I'll bring her there." Raph noticed Don scrunched his face at the last part of his sentence. "I'll be careful. I'll blindfold her." He grinned.

"Just let us know.." Donatello motioned to his shell cell and climbed up the fire escape steps to the roof tops. "Boy will Mikey be surprised."

Just as he jumped the nearby rooftop, a shadowy figure followed him.


	11. Chapter 11

FRIEND OR FOE

CHAPTER 11

AMBUSH

Authorities blocking off the park deterred Kazari to the rooftops of New York that overlooked the outer rim of the area. With the tree foliage blocking her view, she knew it was useless to see what was going on unless she risked going in. Being patient, she kept her vigil and after what felt like hours, her time spent paid off. Her blue eyes caught the sight of the turtles that Baxter showed her taking refuge in a nearby alley. Sprinting off in pursuit, she leaped to the next rooftop and tried her best to anticipate their moves. Stopping near the ledge, she paused to listen in. The city's bustling traffic created a barrier to her concentration. Frustrated, she closed her eyes tighter and tried her best to push it out. Voices! Nearby. Two males…one female. She inched closer to the ledge and looked to see the turtles talking amongst one another in the alley below. It was hard to make out what they were saying but the two males appeared to be doing most of the talking while the female of the group stayed quiet. She appeared different and not like what Baxter showed her. Where did she come from?

Suddenly, seeing one separating from the group towards the roofs, Kazari vanished to not reveal her location and hid behind a water tower. She peered around the side to see the turtle displaying the purple bandana running off towards the west. Where was he going? Knowing it was better to fight one versus two, she decided to tail him and see what she could learn. The sound of thunder approaching made her heart race faster. That's all she needed. A thunderstorm...

Donatello was halfway back to the designated manhole that would lead to their lair, when he got the strange suspicion that he was being followed. The feeling nagged at him after several blocks. He was trying to get home quickly when he too heard the storm approaching, but now it seemed that he was leading his new uninvited guest right where they may have wanted. He tried not to give it away. If he slowed down or took a sudden change too quickly, it may scare them off. What danger was now to him and his family? Was it Bishop? There was no way that one of his flunkies could be that stealthy. Determined that he was in fact being followed, Donatello knew it was time to draw his opponent out. "Let's meet our new friend…" With one swift motion, he reached into his belt and pulled out a smoke screen bomb. Throwing it behind him, he waited for it to explode and then jumped over the ledge. He knew the sudden act on his part would cause his stalker to stop. Reaching into his belt, he took out his night vision goggles and placed them on. Sliding out his bo staff, he gripped the shaft tightly and held his breath. Now it was time to wait.

Kazari was beginning to wonder on where this turtle was going when swiftly he launched a smoke screen and she lost sight of him! "What the heck?" She paused in mid stride and jumped down to the same roof he was on. Taking out her sais, she clenched her teeth and looked around. How did he suspect her? Becoming angry that he was on to her, she glared at the thick smoke that was feet in front of her. "Nice parlor trick, turtle. There's no sense in hiding."

"I'm not hiding." A voice called through the smoke and suddenly his form appeared with his eyes covered up by the night vision goggles. His words were followed by a hard strike of his bo staff. Kazari moved just in time to evade and did a back flip to put more distance between her and him. Donatello grinned from ear to ear at his grand entrance, but his smile quickly dissipated when his brown eyes looked upon her. In front of him stood a humanoid turtle that displayed a fuchsia and black bandana but disguised in an elite uniform. Just like the Elite the turtles encountered years ago on the rooftops. The same Elite that ambushed Leonardo. His mind flipped to the recent mob attacks and what one of the victims described. "You….you are the one who is killing for the Shredder?" His voice shook as he looked upon her. She was one of them...like his brothers…like their new friends. Another Bishop creation? If so, why would Bishop dare to help Shredder? Was a deadly pact being made against them?

Kazari pulled out her sais in response. Her plan didn't call to engage one of the turtles. Now she was tasked to this. Oraku Saki said she wasn't ready. She was ready…she could do this. This turtle left her no choice. "Now it's time for you to die, turtle!" She charged at him and leaped into the air, striking to the left with her sai.

Donatello managed to block it but had to quickly counter defend as her right sai came right at him. Her attacks were quick and very aggressive. Just as he thought he blocked, she swept low with her left leg and tripped him up. Falling to the ground, Donatello growled and regained his footing. "Where did you come from?" He managed to breathe out as he was met with more ferocious strikes.

"The Shredder. My master!" Kazari didn't know why this turtle was asking her questions. Was it a ruse to catch her off guard? An interesting tactic but she wouldn't allow herself to fall to this. Each of the turtle's moves was a counter defensive maneuver. No attack. What was wrong with him?

Donatello gritted his teeth as he managed to hold his staff up to block a deadly centered two sai attack. "Shredder doesn't have a turtle Elite force! I've fought them before. You're not one of them!" He strained as he pressed back as he felt her shifting her weight forward.

"You talk too much!" Kazari hissed as she caught him leaving his right flank exposed and took advantage. Pivoting to her left, she gave the impression she was going to strike there, but then used her right sai and struck! The sai's sharp end slashed through his flesh right above his plastron. Donatello cried out from the wound and he winced as he felt the blood trickling below the non deep laceration.

He managed to get a few feet away to assess the wound, but only for a second before she was on him again. She used her foot and kicked him hard in the same area. He screamed as she applied hard force upon the injury. This caused him to loosen up his stance. With one swift motion, she dropped her left sai, grabbed his wrist, and twisted hard. The motion torn the ligament. Donatello cried out hearing the ligament tear and felt his body sweating from adrenaline. Was it sweat or the rain? The thunderstorm finally caught up with them and the heavy rain caused the blood to trickle down his chest like a diluted river. Knowing that he was in a serious situation, survival became his primary objective. Yelling out, he nailed Kazari hard in the abdomen causing her to double over. He then used his right hand to knock her to the ground with his bo staff. Her body spun in mid air and she collapsed to the ground. Her sai clanged beside her. Taking a few steps back, Don nursed his left injured wrist. He stood there as he watched Kazari cough as she got up on her knees. He watched on with concern. "We do not have to do this." He shivered as the rain water began to cool off his skin and could feel his wrist swelling.

Kazari grabbed her second sai and looked up ahead with her shell to him. Off in the distance, she could barely see Saki's skyscraper in the skyline. She could almost feel him and the other Elite watching her. Baxter was able to watch the park's event. What if he was showing them this? She didn't see any drones, but still. They could be watching. She couldn't fail him… "You will not win!" She screamed as she found rage consuming her. Her attack caught Donatello off guard and he met the blunt end of her sai to his head. He stumbled a bit and she struck again, hitting him square in the plastron. This knocked the bo staff out of his hands and the wooden weapon rolled in the puddle that was forming on the roof a few inches from them. Kazari unleashed one more blow to the head that caused Don to fall to the roof. His body barely moving in the rain as a faint groan escaped his lips. Breathing hard, Kazari stood still and looked on. Her heart raced inside her chest. A feeling of regret and remorse began to consume her. Her mouth felt dry. Trembling, she reholstered her sais.

Baxter laughed maniacally as his drone gave him the live feed. He saw Kazari pause before striking and thought at first that she would fold. The storm's lightening was causing slight interference. Every now and then, the picture would become static before coming clear again. "Baxter Stockman! You are a genius! Once she kills that one, then Shredder will know it was my plan and I will finally be recognized! I will no longer suffer like Hun!"

His holographic face became glued to the screen as he watched on. Was she just standing? "Hmm…must be a lag…" He adjusted the settings and eagerly looked at the monitor in disappointment. "Kill him!" He yelled as if she could hear his voice.

Kazari remained frozen near his side. Her eyes were transfixed on his barely moving form. Then finally she took off from the scene and heading back to where Baxter and Shredder were. Baxter's jaw dropped. "No! What is she doing?! All this…my plan…ugh!"

Donatello's head throbbed and he felt the city around him spinning every time he opened his eyes. He knew he suffered some sort of concussion. He just didn't know the severity of it. A quick assessment led to the diagnosis that other than a concussion and a ligament injury in his wrist, a laceration to his chest that probably may or may not require stitching; he came out of the fight still alive. Where was his attacker? He knew for sure that she would take the killing blow, but she didn't. This puzzled him. Shredder's true elite forces that he fought before would have not hesitated. Why did she? What allegiance did she have to them? Rather than lay in the rain and debate theories with himself, he reached out to his shell cell and hit the panic button. If Kazari didn't finish him, what would stop Shredder from sending out the rest to do it?


	12. Chapter 12

FRIEND OR FOE: CHAPTER 13: FARMHOUSE

" _Yo, April, everyone doing okay back there_?" Casey's voice came through the walkie talkie that was down in the console. April diverted her eyes off the traffic in front of her briefly to pick up the receiver.

"Yes. Just loving the usual commute from here." Her voice had a faint hint of frustration as the traffic was stop and go. Her green eyes glanced back in the rear-view mirror to check on her passengers. Mikey and Sango had taken up the second row of her van while Raphael and R2 were in the back. Master Splinter was in the front passenger seat. Luckily, Casey's uncle Louie could get her van's windows and tinted and the car he loaned them that Casey was driving to keep people from being able to look in. They didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to them especially when it was obvious that the Foot was out looking for them. She just prayed that they were not being tailed.

" _No Foot goons so far. I feel like a sittin' duck out here_." Casey grumbled from his uncle's car. It was a 1980 Cutlass Cierra, gray in color with the paint completely faded. But it ran for the most part and it was just enough for their extra occupants. Leonardo and Donatello were in his car.

"We are almost near the tunnel exit and then should be okay, Casey." She assured her boyfriend in front of her.

"Ugh. How long is this goin' to take? When can we stop for snacks?" Mikey called out up front from where he sat.

"Seriously?" Raph smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Mikey moved around as much as he could in his seat to face his brother. "Quit it."

R2 sat near her window and looked out at the traffic and the city that they were leaving. This whole planet was so strange to her. Her attention was caught by a passenger van that was in the lane next to them. A small child was playing with a toy that appeared to resemble a Triceraton. However, the creature appeared to not be in a standing position, but more like it walked on all fours and it had no clothes on! "Slag. What in the Great Horn spirit is that small alien doing? Why is that Triceraton toy naked?" She pointed out the child with confusion.

Raph moved closer to her to peer over her shoulder and then snickered. "Ok. For one, please don't talk like that. You on Earth now." R2 made a face, Raphael responded with a soft playful grin and then he continued, "And two, that's a dinosaur."

"A what?" R2 lifted an eye ridge.

"A big lizard. I don't know the name. You need to ask Donnie. He's the dino expert." Raph scooted back to his spot.

R2 looked his way, still perplexed by the notion. "Why is it naked?"

Michelangelo laughed. "Because, the dinosaurs didn't wear clothes. They were on Earth a lot time ago. Come on, have you seen Jurassic Park?"

"Duh, Mikey. Do you think she has?" Raph shook his head and grumbled a bit under his breath.

Mikey blushed some. "Oh yeah."

"What's Jurassic Park?" Sango asked.

"It's a great movie! It's about these dinosaurs that escape this theme park and they start to eat everyone!"

Sango's eyes went wide in horror and she cringed. "Ewww! That's disgusting!"

"Sounds cool." R2 commented with a shrug.

It was this time for Raph to lift an eye ridge. "You would like that stuff?"

R2 shrugged again. "I guess. I mean what's so wrong with blood? I used to love to watch the games."

Raphael pushed up against his seat to get more comfortable. "Yeah, we have been to those 'games.'"

"I remember that! Monza Ram was so cool and badass!" Mikey turned around again with his back to the front of the van.

"He fought against us, Mikey."

"Yeah, but then he helped us!"

"Traitors," R2 spat as the remembrance of what happened with her father popped in her mind.

Raph caught on to this. "Okay. Ease up. Let's talk about something else?"

April shot a sideways glance over to Master Splinter who was also sitting there just listening in on their conversation. "I wonder what's being said in Casey's car."

Splinter smiled grimly. "My son, Leonardo, is very troubled about what has happened to his brother. I will need to make sure he meditates with me when we get there to calm his mind or his mind will be clouded with anger."

April sighed. "I thought Karai promised this would all be over. No offense, Master Splinter, but I don't like having a target on my back every time I go outside."

The drive to Casey's grandpa's farmhouse took several hours after they left Manhattan and when they finally arrived, it was dark outside. There were no neighbors around so the entire place looked eerie. Most of everyone in the van were asleep. "Rise and shine, guys." April coaxed her occupants as she turned off the van.

Raph stirred awake and felt lightweight pressing on him. He glanced to his right to see that R2 had fallen asleep beside him and her head was resting on his shoulder. She was snoring lightly and some drool was coming out the corner of her mouth. The sight of her sleeping there peacefully made him smile as he watched on. The sound of Mikey opening the van's door made him snap to his senses and he lightly nudged her by moving his shoulder away slowly. R2 woke up and then realized what she was doing and sat up quickly. Her face turned red as she quickly wiped the wetness from her face. "We here finally?"

Raph didn't comment about how she was sleeping before and moved to get out of the van after lowering the middle row once Sango and Mikey exited. "Yeah, finally. I hate these long car rides."

Mikey stretched and then grabbed Sango's hand to tag her along with him to the house. "I'm going to stake out my room." He paused and turned red. "And, uh, show where the girls can sleep." Sango giggled.

Casey walked over to check on April and gave a haphazard smile. "Home sweet home."

The next day, Donatello woke up early and found that most of everyone were still asleep except for Leo, Splinter and Casey. Despite, Mikey's protest, the boys bunkered down stairs with blankets and pillows with Casey while April, Splinter and the girls took the three upstairs bedrooms. Donatello tied on his bandana and walked out. The morning air felt cool against his reptilian skin and it created a small chill that went down his body. Leo and Splinter were nowhere in sight and he figured that logically they were out doing a morning training session. It was nothing out of the usual. The door to the farm's barn was opened and he heard someone working inside. Walking over to inspect, he found Casey bent over under the hood of an old Chevy truck. The vehicle was an antique compared to modern vehicles and its paint showed its age. Casey was grumbling loudly as he appeared to be fixing something.

"Need any help?" Don tossed out as he leaned up against the edge of the barn door to look on, still guarding his injured wrist.

Casey stepped out and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I got bored so I figured to try to fix Grandpa's truck. I would love to ride it in again. There's a store down the road so I wanted to take it down to pick us up some supplies."

Donatello felt his stomach gurgle from the mention of food. "Breakfast would be nice."

"You think you can help me with it? I can toss you a wrench and you- "The black haired paused in midsentence as his blue eyes fell to Don's wrist. "Uh, never mind. I forgot."

The olive-skinned turtle chuckled. "I can still try to help some." He walked closer to look under the hood.

"I'm trying to check the plugs. I'm sure they all need to be replaced." Casey commented as he moved to get out of the way.

Donatello frowned. "You sure the store will have plugs for this vehicle?"

Casey scratched his head as he thought. "Uh, maybe."

Suddenly the sound of Leonardo clearing his throat nearby caught their attention. Casey nearly jumped and held his chest. "Geez, Leo. Do you have to sneak around?"

Leonardo was standing there silently with his arms crossed. "Sorry, Case. Don, you feel up for a walk?"

The question threw him off. Leonardo's face and entire body was clenched tightly. He was upset about something. "Uh, sure, Leo. Let's go."

Leo kept his silence for most of the walk, which made the activity awkward, but finally spoke up. "So, this new Foot elite. Did she fight like Karai?"

Donatello thought back to the encounter with Kazari and then their first encounter with Karai and her men when she first took over for the city. "No, her fighting style was definitely different. It seemed more in line with Shredder's Elite Guard."

The blue bandana turtle's body language made it hard to read as he processed the information. "You think she's the same one that was attacking the mob?"

"Well the reports did mention a turtle. She was deadly so sounds like the MO."

Leonardo nodded his head some. "She let you go?"

"I'm still here." Donatello gave a playful smirk, but it quickly vanished when he saw no reaction from his troubled brother. He sighed heavily. "Leo, what's going on?"

Normally, the disciplined turtle would keep to himself when he was in turmoil, but he knew what happened last time he did that when the city was in trouble. It caused a huge divide among his family. "When we helped Karai take over, I knew that the Shredder was dead and that the Foot would back down from my family. It seems like she has broken that promise." His voice wavered on the end.

At first, Donatello didn't want to state the obvious, no matter how impossible it sounded. The Shredder was dead, yet there were new orders coming in. Karai had no control over it. "Have you talked with Karai?" He inquired. He knew that his brother would secretly meet up with the Foot ninja sometimes when the times called for it. He didn't like it, but he trusted his brother.

"Not since the accident. She did tell me before that changes were coming." He admitted. He was teetering with doubt. "Maybe, she can't control this?"

"Maybe," Don agreed hopefully. He began to wonder if this walk was more in line to not press him for information, but to find reason with his brother's own troubled mind.

"If the Shredder did send this new Elite, why wouldn't he order to kill you? Clearly, his intent is to destroy us." Leo asked out loud as they turned to head back to the farmhouse.

"He could still have it out for you, Leo. He's getting to us first before you." Donatello tossed the idea out. He remembered years ago when Oraku Saki first approached Leonardo about his clan and invited him and his brothers to join. Leo almost fell for the ruse until his family intervened.

"Still doesn't make sense why the Elite let you live. Don, did she hesitate?"

"Not enough to really kick my shell," Donatello winced some as he touched his injured wrist. "I have the marks to prove it. She's good. I'll admit that."

Leo became silent again. "Maybe it's time we go on the offensive…" His words were icily.

"Huh?"

Without an explanation of anything further, Leo thanked his brother with a slight wave and jogged ahead to the farmhouse. Donatello shook his head as he watched on. "Please don't do this again, Leo. Not now."

That afternoon..

"Mikey, I don't like not being able to see." Sango whined as she tried her best to take baby steps as the other turtle ushered her along from behind. His hands covered her eyes and she kept stumbling over rocks and tree roots.

"Shhh." Mikey grinned as he kept directing her to his planned retreat. "You have to be all ninja. Use your other senses."

Sango groaned as she almost stumbled once more. "But I'm not a ninja. Can I please open my eyes now?"

"Listen." Mikey smiled as he looked ahead to the clearing ahead. "We are close now. What do you hear?"

Sango puffed up in frustration as she hated the game he was playing with her. "I don't know…birds?" She did hear faint chirping nearby.

"Nope...guess again." He teased as he moved her along a little faster.

"Ugh," Sango protested as she tried to listen again. "Water?"

"Bingo!" Mikey cheered as he unveiled a watering hole that he discovered in their previous trip to the farmhouse. It was where a natural spring formed from mountain runoff and it came from a tiny waterfall that was only about three feet above the water.

Sango's blue eyes became wide as she saw the sight in front of her. The water looked so calm and inviting. "Wow…that's beautiful."

"Yeah. This is a cool hangout for us. You know uh...the entire gang," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You can sit here and draw while I read comics or even..." He stopped and smiled big. "Go for a swim!" He moved in front of her towards the shore line.

Sango looked on. "Now? Isn't it kind of cold?"

"We will be fine. It's not completely Fall yet." He dipped his toe in the water and shivered just a little. "So, a little cold…but could be so worth it!"

"Worth what?" Sango tilted her head.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Michelangelo began to remove his gear and bandana. Sango watched on and felt herself becoming flush. His body was so attractive to her. She felt so calm around Michelangelo and felt like she could be herself. Ever since she met him, the fear of the tortured she endured with Bishop was dissipating. She then looked down at her own wraps and she stepped back some. "I can just watch." She still didn't like the fact that her body was riddled with scars. How could she be beautiful or attractive to him by looking that way?

Mikey looked over with concern. "Is something the matter?" He felt bad. What if the idea was too much for her? The thought of seeing her naked once again crossed his mind…a lot, but maybe his hormones were making him think crazy thoughts. He never felt this way about anyone before, but then again, he didn't really get the chance before. How many times would he run into a mutant turtle, especially one as beautiful as Sango?

Sango backed away a little and hugged herself. "I.. I don't think I want to go for a swim."

Michelangelo caught onto her body language. He stepped forward. His voice softened, "Is it the wraps?"

Sango nervously removed her hands from her body and she tried to stand taller. "No..," she lied.

"I have seen you before without the wraps. There's nothing to be ashamed of." He noticed that she still wasn't sold. He bit his lip and then thought of another approach. "What if I looked away while you undress and get in? That way you will be in the water."

Sango pondered the idea and then nodded her head slowly. She waited for him to turn his back to her before she began to undo the wraps. She hesitantly looked his way again. "You better not peek."

"Not even a little sneak peek?" He teased coyly.

Sango giggled. "Nope!" Once she removed her wraps and bandana, she walked over to the water and dipped her toe to test the temperature. She recoiled quickly. "It is cold!"

Michelangelo, who was still around, chuckled. "You have five seconds to get in and then I'm coming in there with you."

"What?!" Sango embarrassedly moved faster the water, ignoring the coolness and dunked her body in.

Once satisfied with hearing her body go into the water, Mikey whirled around on his heel and ran to jump in. "Cannonball!" Sango covered her face to avoid being splashed and laughed as she watched him dive in. Within seconds he came to the surface and squirted water out of his mouth as if it was a mountain. "I love this! We should totally just camp out here!"

Sango relaxed and swam gracefully in the water. "I could get used to this."

Michelangelo looked on. "I could to."

Sango blushed more. "Mikey!"

"What?" He playfully smirked as he swam closer. Sango tried to swim away, but he grabbed her hand and began to lead her to the waterfall. "We should so do this!"

"Do what?" Sango chuckled as she let him lead the way.

He didn't reply until they were right under the waterfall. The water splashed off their bodies. "This." He grinned as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her lightly.

The action was quick and totally caught her off-guard. Sango felt herself at first wanting to pull away, but his lips were so inviting that she felt herself returning the kiss. The pair finally broke away after several seconds to get some air back. Michelangelo cupped her face gently with his hand and nuzzled her. "I love you, Sango…."

"I love you too, Mikey..."

A few weeks have passed at the farmhouse, everyone was getting restless about returning to the city. Donatello was completely healed for the most part and could join in on their practices, which Leonardo constantly insisted everyday unless their sensei objected to it. Raphael was becoming annoyed on how more distracted Michelangelo seemed when Sango was around or not around for that matter. The turtle's head was in the clouds and it showed especially when they were training. He was constantly being cued by Leo.

Seeing that they finally had a break in their day, Raphael came out of the farmhouse carrying two bows with a quiver full of arrows. He whistled over at Mikey who was sitting under a tree talking to Sango. "Yo, Mikey. Let's go."

Michelangelo walked over to his brother. "Go where, Raph?"

Raph nodded with his head over to Donatello. "You too, Donnie. We need you."

Donatello was sitting on the porch talking with R2 about space travel. He stopped in mid-sentence. "Should I be scared?" He waved goodbye to R2 as he stood back up.

Raphael handed a bow to Michelangelo. "It's time to play a game, bro."

"Robin Hood?" Michelangelo looked at the bow quizzically.

"Even better." Raphael grinned evilly over to their nerdy brother that just now joined their group. "William Tell."


	13. Chapter 13

FRIEND OR FOE: CHAPTER 13: FARMHOUSE

" _Yo, April, everyone doing okay back there_?" Casey's voice came through the walkie talkie that was down in the console. April diverted her eyes off the traffic in front of her briefly to pick up the receiver.

"Yes. Just loving the usual commute from here." Her voice had a faint hint of frustration as the traffic was stop and go. Her green eyes glanced back in the rear-view mirror to check on her passengers. Mikey and Sango had taken up the second row of her van while Raphael and R2 were in the back. Master Splinter was in the front passenger seat. Luckily, Casey's uncle Louie could get her van's windows and tinted and the car he loaned them that Casey was driving to keep people from being able to look in. They didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to them especially when it was obvious that the Foot was out looking for them. She just prayed that they were not being tailed.

" _No Foot goons so far. I feel like a sittin' duck out here_." Casey grumbled from his uncle's car. It was a 1980 Cutlass Cierra, gray in color with the paint completely faded. But it ran for the most part and it was just enough for their extra occupants. Leonardo and Donatello were in his car.

"We are almost near the tunnel exit and then should be okay, Casey." She assured her boyfriend in front of her.

"Ugh. How long is this goin' to take? When can we stop for snacks?" Mikey called out up front from where he sat.

"Seriously?" Raph smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Mikey moved around as much as he could in his seat to face his brother. "Quit it."

R2 sat near her window and looked out at the traffic and the city that they were leaving. This whole planet was so strange to her. Her attention was caught by a passenger van that was in the lane next to them. A small child was playing with a toy that appeared to resemble a Triceraton. However, the creature appeared to not be in a standing position, but more like it walked on all fours and it had no clothes on! "Slag. What in the Great Horn spirit is that small alien doing? Why is that Triceraton toy naked?" She pointed out the child with confusion.

Raph moved closer to her to peer over her shoulder and then snickered. "Ok. For one, please don't talk like that. You on Earth now." R2 made a face, Raphael responded with a soft playful grin and then he continued, "And two, that's a dinosaur."

"A what?" R2 lifted an eye ridge.

"A big lizard. I don't know the name. You need to ask Donnie. He's the dino expert." Raph scooted back to his spot.

R2 looked his way, still perplexed by the notion. "Why is it naked?"

Michelangelo laughed. "Because, the dinosaurs didn't wear clothes. They were on Earth a lot time ago. Come on, have you seen Jurassic Park?"

"Duh, Mikey. Do you think she has?" Raph shook his head and grumbled a bit under his breath.

Mikey blushed some. "Oh yeah."

"What's Jurassic Park?" Sango asked.

"It's a great movie! It's about these dinosaurs that escape this theme park and they start to eat everyone!"

Sango's eyes went wide in horror and she cringed. "Ewww! That's disgusting!"

"Sounds cool." R2 commented with a shrug.

It was this time for Raph to lift an eye ridge. "You would like that stuff?"

R2 shrugged again. "I guess. I mean what's so wrong with blood? I used to love to watch the games."

Raphael pushed up against his seat to get more comfortable. "Yeah, we have been to those 'games.'"

"I remember that! Monza Ram was so cool and badass!" Mikey turned around again with his back to the front of the van.

"He fought against us, Mikey."

"Yeah, but then he helped us!"

"Traitors," R2 spat as the remembrance of what happened with her father popped in her mind.

Raph caught on to this. "Okay. Ease up. Let's talk about something else?"

April shot a sideways glance over to Master Splinter who was also sitting there just listening in on their conversation. "I wonder what's being said in Casey's car."

Splinter smiled grimly. "My son, Leonardo, is very troubled about what has happened to his brother. I will need to make sure he meditates with me when we get there to calm his mind or his mind will be clouded with anger."

April sighed. "I thought Karai promised this would all be over. No offense, Master Splinter, but I don't like having a target on my back every time I go outside."

The drive to Casey's grandpa's farmhouse took several hours after they left Manhattan and when they finally arrived, it was dark outside. There were no neighbors around so the entire place looked eerie. Most of everyone in the van were asleep. "Rise and shine, guys." April coaxed her occupants as she turned off the van.

Raph stirred awake and felt lightweight pressing on him. He glanced to his right to see that R2 had fallen asleep beside him and her head was resting on his shoulder. She was snoring lightly and some drool was coming out the corner of her mouth. The sight of her sleeping there peacefully made him smile as he watched on. The sound of Mikey opening the van's door made him snap to his senses and he lightly nudged her by moving his shoulder away slowly. R2 woke up and then realized what she was doing and sat up quickly. Her face turned red as she quickly wiped the wetness from her face. "We here finally?"

Raph didn't comment about how she was sleeping before and moved to get out of the van after lowering the middle row once Sango and Mikey exited. "Yeah, finally. I hate these long car rides."

Mikey stretched and then grabbed Sango's hand to tag her along with him to the house. "I'm going to stake out my room." He paused and turned red. "And, uh, show where the girls can sleep." Sango giggled.

Casey walked over to check on April and gave a haphazard smile. "Home sweet home."

The next day, Donatello woke up early and found that most of everyone were still asleep except for Leo, Splinter and Casey. Despite, Mikey's protest, the boys bunkered down stairs with blankets and pillows with Casey while April, Splinter and the girls took the three upstairs bedrooms. Donatello tied on his bandana and walked out. The morning air felt cool against his reptilian skin and it created a small chill that went down his body. Leo and Splinter were nowhere in sight and he figured that logically they were out doing a morning training session. It was nothing out of the usual. The door to the farm's barn was opened and he heard someone working inside. Walking over to inspect, he found Casey bent over under the hood of an old Chevy truck. The vehicle was an antique compared to modern vehicles and its paint showed its age. Casey was grumbling loudly as he appeared to be fixing something.

"Need any help?" Don tossed out as he leaned up against the edge of the barn door to look on, still guarding his injured wrist.

Casey stepped out and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I got bored so I figured to try to fix Grandpa's truck. I would love to ride it in again. There's a store down the road so I wanted to take it down to pick us up some supplies."

Donatello felt his stomach gurgle from the mention of food. "Breakfast would be nice."

"You think you can help me with it? I can toss you a wrench and you- "The black haired paused in midsentence as his blue eyes fell to Don's wrist. "Uh, never mind. I forgot."

The olive-skinned turtle chuckled. "I can still try to help some." He walked closer to look under the hood.

"I'm trying to check the plugs. I'm sure they all need to be replaced." Casey commented as he moved to get out of the way.

Donatello frowned. "You sure the store will have plugs for this vehicle?"

Casey scratched his head as he thought. "Uh, maybe."

Suddenly the sound of Leonardo clearing his throat nearby caught their attention. Casey nearly jumped and held his chest. "Geez, Leo. Do you have to sneak around?"

Leonardo was standing there silently with his arms crossed. "Sorry, Case. Don, you feel up for a walk?"

The question threw him off. Leonardo's face and entire body was clenched tightly. He was upset about something. "Uh, sure, Leo. Let's go."

Leo kept his silence for most of the walk, which made the activity awkward, but finally spoke up. "So, this new Foot elite. Did she fight like Karai?"

Donatello thought back to the encounter with Kazari and then their first encounter with Karai and her men when she first took over for the city. "No, her fighting style was definitely different. It seemed more in line with Shredder's Elite Guard."

The blue bandana turtle's body language made it hard to read as he processed the information. "You think she's the same one that was attacking the mob?"

"Well the reports did mention a turtle. She was deadly so sounds like the MO."

Leonardo nodded his head some. "She let you go?"

"I'm still here." Donatello gave a playful smirk, but it quickly vanished when he saw no reaction from his troubled brother. He sighed heavily. "Leo, what's going on?"

Normally, the disciplined turtle would keep to himself when he was in turmoil, but he knew what happened last time he did that when the city was in trouble. It caused a huge divide among his family. "When we helped Karai take over, I knew that the Shredder was dead and that the Foot would back down from my family. It seems like she has broken that promise." His voice wavered on the end.

At first, Donatello didn't want to state the obvious, no matter how impossible it sounded. The Shredder was dead, yet there were new orders coming in. Karai had no control over it. "Have you talked with Karai?" He inquired. He knew that his brother would secretly meet up with the Foot ninja sometimes when the times called for it. He didn't like it, but he trusted his brother.

"Not since the accident. She did tell me before that changes were coming." He admitted. He was teetering with doubt. "Maybe, she can't control this?"

"Maybe," Don agreed hopefully. He began to wonder if this walk was more in line to not press him for information, but to find reason with his brother's own troubled mind.

"If the Shredder did send this new Elite, why wouldn't he order to kill you? Clearly, his intent is to destroy us." Leo asked out loud as they turned to head back to the farmhouse.

"He could still have it out for you, Leo. He's getting to us first before you." Donatello tossed the idea out. He remembered years ago when Oraku Saki first approached Leonardo about his clan and invited him and his brothers to join. Leo almost fell for the ruse until his family intervened.

"Still doesn't make sense why the Elite let you live. Don, did she hesitate?"

"Not enough to really kick my shell," Donatello winced some as he touched his injured wrist. "I have the marks to prove it. She's good. I'll admit that."

Leo became silent again. "Maybe it's time we go on the offensive…" His words were icily.

"Huh?"

Without an explanation of anything further, Leo thanked his brother with a slight wave and jogged ahead to the farmhouse. Donatello shook his head as he watched on. "Please don't do this again, Leo. Not now."

That afternoon..

"Mikey, I don't like not being able to see." Sango whined as she tried her best to take baby steps as the other turtle ushered her along from behind. His hands covered her eyes and she kept stumbling over rocks and tree roots.

"Shhh." Mikey grinned as he kept directing her to his planned retreat. "You have to be all ninja. Use your other senses."

Sango groaned as she almost stumbled once more. "But I'm not a ninja. Can I please open my eyes now?"

"Listen." Mikey smiled as he looked ahead to the clearing ahead. "We are close now. What do you hear?"

Sango puffed up in frustration as she hated the game he was playing with her. "I don't know…birds?" She did hear faint chirping nearby.

"Nope...guess again." He teased as he moved her along a little faster.

"Ugh," Sango protested as she tried to listen again. "Water?"

"Bingo!" Mikey cheered as he unveiled a watering hole that he discovered in their previous trip to the farmhouse. It was where a natural spring formed from mountain runoff and it came from a tiny waterfall that was only about three feet above the water.

Sango's blue eyes became wide as she saw the sight in front of her. The water looked so calm and inviting. "Wow…that's beautiful."

"Yeah. This is a cool hangout for us. You know uh...the entire gang," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You can sit here and draw while I read comics or even..." He stopped and smiled big. "Go for a swim!" He moved in front of her towards the shore line.

Sango looked on. "Now? Isn't it kind of cold?"

"We will be fine. It's not completely Fall yet." He dipped his toe in the water and shivered just a little. "So, a little cold…but could be so worth it!"

"Worth what?" Sango tilted her head.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Michelangelo began to remove his gear and bandana. Sango watched on and felt herself becoming flush. His body was so attractive to her. She felt so calm around Michelangelo and felt like she could be herself. Ever since she met him, the fear of the tortured she endured with Bishop was dissipating. She then looked down at her own wraps and she stepped back some. "I can just watch." She still didn't like the fact that her body was riddled with scars. How could she be beautiful or attractive to him by looking that way?

Mikey looked over with concern. "Is something the matter?" He felt bad. What if the idea was too much for her? The thought of seeing her naked once again crossed his mind…a lot, but maybe his hormones were making him think crazy thoughts. He never felt this way about anyone before, but then again, he didn't really get the chance before. How many times would he run into a mutant turtle, especially one as beautiful as Sango?

Sango backed away a little and hugged herself. "I.. I don't think I want to go for a swim."

Michelangelo caught onto her body language. He stepped forward. His voice softened, "Is it the wraps?"

Sango nervously removed her hands from her body and she tried to stand taller. "No..," she lied.

"I have seen you before without the wraps. There's nothing to be ashamed of." He noticed that she still wasn't sold. He bit his lip and then thought of another approach. "What if I looked away while you undress and get in? That way you will be in the water."

Sango pondered the idea and then nodded her head slowly. She waited for him to turn his back to her before she began to undo the wraps. She hesitantly looked his way again. "You better not peek."

"Not even a little sneak peek?" He teased coyly.

Sango giggled. "Nope!" Once she removed her wraps and bandana, she walked over to the water and dipped her toe to test the temperature. She recoiled quickly. "It is cold!"

Michelangelo, who was still around, chuckled. "You have five seconds to get in and then I'm coming in there with you."

"What?!" Sango embarrassedly moved faster the water, ignoring the coolness and dunked her body in.

Once satisfied with hearing her body go into the water, Mikey whirled around on his heel and ran to jump in. "Cannonball!" Sango covered her face to avoid being splashed and laughed as she watched him dive in. Within seconds he came to the surface and squirted water out of his mouth as if it was a mountain. "I love this! We should totally just camp out here!"

Sango relaxed and swam gracefully in the water. "I could get used to this."

Michelangelo looked on. "I could to."

Sango blushed more. "Mikey!"

"What?" He playfully smirked as he swam closer. Sango tried to swim away, but he grabbed her hand and began to lead her to the waterfall. "We should so do this!"

"Do what?" Sango chuckled as she let him lead the way.

He didn't reply until they were right under the waterfall. The water splashed off their bodies. "This." He grinned as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her lightly.

The action was quick and totally caught her off-guard. Sango felt herself at first wanting to pull away, but his lips were so inviting that she felt herself returning the kiss. The pair finally broke away after several seconds to get some air back. Michelangelo cupped her face gently with his hand and nuzzled her. "I love you, Sango…."

"I love you too, Mikey..."

A few weeks have passed at the farmhouse, everyone was getting restless about returning to the city. Donatello was completely healed for the most part and could join in on their practices, which Leonardo constantly insisted everyday unless their sensei objected to it. Raphael was becoming annoyed on how more distracted Michelangelo seemed when Sango was around or not around for that matter. The turtle's head was in the clouds and it showed especially when they were training. He was constantly being cued by Leo.

Seeing that they finally had a break in their day, Raphael came out of the farmhouse carrying two bows with a quiver full of arrows. He whistled over at Mikey who was sitting under a tree talking to Sango. "Yo, Mikey. Let's go."

Michelangelo walked over to his brother. "Go where, Raph?"

Raph nodded with his head over to Donatello. "You too, Donnie. We need you."

Donatello was sitting on the porch talking with R2 about space travel. He stopped in mid-sentence. "Should I be scared?" He waved goodbye to R2 as he stood back up.

Raphael handed a bow to Michelangelo. "It's time to play a game, bro."

"Robin Hood?" Michelangelo looked at the bow quizzically.

"Even better." Raphael grinned evilly over to their nerdy brother that just now joined their group. "William Tell."


	14. Chapter 14

FRIEND OR FOE

CHAPTER 14: RE-MATCH

Michelangelo's high-pitched scream alarmed everyone inside the lair. "G-guys! Guys! Come here!" The group had returned to NYC a few months following their trip to the farmhouse. They all thought the trip away was just what they needed to get their minds at ease. However, they came to a rude awakening of reality.

Leonardo hurtled himself over the couch to arrive to his brother's location first. "What is it, Michelangelo?

His brother pointed to the multiple television displays where a young brown hair sharp dressed reporter was talking. Leonardo lifted an eye ridge at his trembling brother. "Him?"

Michelangelo's eyes became wide and then he scrunched his face. "No! Come on!" He yelled at the reporter. "Get back to it! I saw the Shredder! It was him!"

"You yankin' our tails, Mikey. The Shredder is dead." Raphael grumbled.

"Who is the Shredder again?" Terrapin tilted her head.

Leonardo narrowed his eyes sharply as his gaze returned to the television. The knot in his stomach he had made him realize his intuition was right. Donatello's description of his would-be assassin's fighting style was on point with the Elite Guard. They never faced this new foe before and wouldn't make sense for the Shredder to order the strike without giving the order. Karai was withholding information. Once again, she betrayed his trust. Then as the news report flashed back to the film footage, he faltered. There was Oraku Saki smiling as he was talking with the city's mayor.

"Mr. Oraku Saki has given financial aid to help rebuild New York City. He's using his own resources to save taxpayers to salvage the remains of the Triceraton Invasion. Could Mr. Saki run for mayor next? We will get the exclusive about the speculation this coming Friday. Stay tuned." The reporter paused a few moments for the feed to end and then the station switched to another news anchor behind their desk to give the stats on sports.

"Mayor?" Raphael scoffed. "That will be the day. So, the Shredder is back after all…." His eyes narrowed into slits. "How can we kill that metal head?"

"What is he going to do with the salvage? What about the fallen Triceratons?" Terrapin tilted her head.

"He will probably steal what he can to use it against us." Raph growled.

"Can we just back to the main question..." Michelangelo raised his finger. "How in the shell is the Shredder alive? Karai even told us he was dead."

"Oh, and you just believe what she says?" Raphael crossed his arms. "You are just as gullible as, Leo. Face it. She lied to us."

Donatello noticed Leo tensing up and the leader opened his mouth to argue a rebuttal, but the olive-skinned turtle interjected quickly to try to diffuse the situation. "Whatever, the Shredder is up to. It's not good. There's a lot of alien tech out there. I can't believe the city is just going to let him have it."

Terrapin pivoted on her heel and stormed towards the turtles' lair's entrance. "Where you goin'?" Raph called after her.

"That's my people that they are just going to discard. I'm going to make sure that they get the proper burial rite."

Raphael dashed after her and grabbed her hand. "You can't just go walkin' around up there. You think they just goin' to let you take care of your 'dead.'?

Terrapin felt herself grow flush from his touch, but quickly recoiled. "I can handle myself."

"I hate to say it. But the big lug head is right. What if you get captured? I mean what if Bishop gets you." Michelangelo paused and looked over at Sango who stood to the side, remaining quiet during the ordeal. He could see the albino turtle tense up by the mention of the dark-haired man's name. "Sorry, Sangy."

"With Shredder's forces in the area, we need to lay low and then do surveillance once they clear out." Leonardo suggested.

"No dice." Terrapin threw up her hand and continued her way to the entrance.

"Hold up." Raph grabbed her hand again. "I can't let you go up there alone."

"I could go." Donatello rose up from his seat at his computer desk and grabbed his bo staff. "It would give me a chance to look more at their technology."

"You think you're up for it?" Leo called over to his brother with concern. A part of him wanted to dismiss the idea completely, but he knew if a small group could get in, they could get data more about what Saki was up to. Don would be the obvious choice, especially with his electronics background.

"I'm fine." His brother took to Terrapin's side.

"You sure you want to go up there?" Raphael asked the female turtle him again. "Maybe, I need to come too."

"I'll be fine. I can handle myself." Terrapin motioned ahead with her head. "Come on, Donatello. I want to get up there. Enough talk." Donatello shrugged at his brother as he hurried up to follow her.

"She's so like you, Raph." Mikey teased as he watched the pair leave.

Sango giggled. "You think so, Mikey?"

"Absolutely. Like his clone. Such a hothead. Rushing off." Michelangelo's eyes become wide with excitement. "That's it!"

"What's it, Mikey?" Leonardo looked onto his younger sibling in confusion.

"I was just thinking what a boring name 'Terrapin' is. We should call her, Raph's Clone...no wait…too long. Raphael 2? No…" He scratched his head.

"R2?" Sango suggested.

"R2? Like the robot off Star Wars? Huh?" Michelangelo looked at her in confusion.

"What's Star Wars?" Sango blinked.

Michelangelo's jaw dropped. "What's…What's Star Wars?!"

Donatello led Terrapin to the outskirts of Battery Park that was near the bay. Out in the water, a fallen tribase was floating in the water. The structure was tied down to the dock to keep it from floating out to sea and crews were nearby to salvage a down fighter craft. This left the tribase untouched for the time being. Donatello knelt behind some trashcans that sat in the alley located near a business and motioned his companion to do the same. "Looks like we could check out the tribase. I don't see anyone looking at it. You think that's worth the shot? Or should we hit the park?"

Terrapin nodded her head. "Tribase. I need to look for survivors."

The thought of live Triceratons on the tribase never crossed Donatello's mind and he began to wonder if it was worth the risk going in with just the two of them. Even, if Terrapin was their ally. Would she take his side or theirs? For now, he decided that he would keep that possibility in the back of his mind. After all, he was the one always calculating on their team.

Stopping near the docks that outlook the bay, Donatello quickly glanced around to make sure that no one had spotted them. "Okay, this may involve a quick swim." Without a response, Terrapin jumped into the dark waters to make her way over. "Huh? Just like Raph…" Donatello muttered under his breath as he dove in pursuit.

The dark halls of the tribase were eerie and there was a distant sound of water that was pouring into one of its exposed areas. Luckily, the additional weight didn't cause the base to plummet. Donatello knew their trip had to be brief. The suction of the base's dive could trap both he and Terrapin inside. He handed his flashlight to Terrapin. "Here. I'll let you lead."

Terrapin grunted a "thank you" as she moved quickly within the halls. There were dead Triceratons in several of the rooms. Most of their injuries appear to be from the crash itself. Donatello paused at their latest room's doorway when more bodies were discovered. "I'm sorry…"

"Too many of them. I have to get them all out for a proper burial." Terrapin growled as she assessed two of them. Her eyes watered up. "This is all Blanque's fault!"

"They were attacking our planet to look for the Fugitoid and almost took off with our friends." Donatello felt his voice raise with the sudden painful reminder of how the triceratons were snatching citizens up that had any of the particles on them from the Fugitoid's teleportation. Casey and April ended up in the mix and they were all slated to be sent up for interrogation. Don tried to save those that he could, but found himself captured and subjected to a painful memory scan thanks to Zanramon.

Terrapin flickered her tail in frustration and remained tense. Before she could open her mouth to argue, the sound of metal clanging nearby sparked her attention. She looked over at Donatello. He rose his finger to his lips and motioned with his hand to follow him. As he walked, the purple bandana turtle took out his bo staff as he walked on the balls of his feet down the hall toward the direction of the noise. Terrapin followed him and turned off the flashlight. She switched that with the blaster that she swiped from one of the dead Triceratons. If anyone was here to mutilate her fallen brethren, she was going to put a hole through them.

Their journey took them towards the eastern part of the base and deeper towards the center. Don had no idea where they were going. He paused to allow Terrapin to catch up to him. "Where are we heading?" He kept his voice to a whisper. He didn't think their guest knew of their presence and he was hoping to keep it that way.

Terrapin looked at him as if the question was too easy to really be asking. "Towards one of the engine terminals."

"That's not good…are they trying to get it back online?" Donatello pressed ahead. If Saki was trying to get the engines back online, where would he be able to store such a mammoth craft? What could he possibly salvage from that? Hearing voices ahead, Donatello quickened his steps. It was time to unveil their guests.

Kazari walked around the empty engine room to look at the infrastructure and allowed her fingertips to glide over the one of the terminal screens. "This is so fascinating…they have the capability for quantum entanglement communications." Her blue eyes flashed over to the other side of the room and she dashed over. "There's a hyper drive here. We could use this to travel to other parts of the galaxy…wow…"

"Did you find their main computer drive? I need…I mean…the Shredder needs you to see what you can obtain from it." Baxter's voice came through her comm link.

"Yeah…I know." Kaz rolled her eyes as she searched her satchel for the chip she would use in the port to gain access to the drive's data. "Okay…I found the port…inserting now…transmitting."

The hologram of Baxter's face smiled. "Data receiving now…five percent."

Terrapin cocked her head to Don beside her. They were at the room's door and listening to the conversation. "Uh, what the slag? Who is that?" She growled lowly to him.

"That's her…" Don whispered as his eyes went wide seeing his foe.

"She sounds geeky..." Terrapin muttered.

"She's the one that handed my shell to me."

"I don't like her messing around…even if she's a terrapin like us." Terrapin stood up. "Hey you!"

Donatello panicked and grabbed Terrapin's hand. "Don't!"

Kazari pivoted on her heel to confront the voice she heard. Her sais out within a nanosecond. Her blue eyes saw Terrapin and then moved to Donatello. "You're alive?"

"Yeah, I'm tougher than I look." Donatello moved to stand around Terrapin to protect her and to keep her from doing anything reckless. This new foe of Shredder was deadly and Don knew it would take more than just the two of them to take her on. If she was here, then it could mean more of his forces were skulking around.

"Let me just shoot her." Terrapin snapped.

Kaz spun her sais. "Want to give it a try? Whatever…you are."

"I'm a terrapin like you."

"You're nothing like me," Kazari hissed.

"You're right." Donatello spoke up. "You're not like us. You work for the Shredder. I think we need a rematch."

a


End file.
